328 Matching Annotations
  1. Dec 2019
    1. The thinking of Ralph Ellison, Mah-moud El Kati, Toni Morrison, Thandeka, and Richard Wright is central to my learning about whiteness

      I would add Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ibram X Kendi to this list.

    2. I’m convinced that white people also need to better understand white racial identity to engage anti-racism.

      What does "white racial identity" even mean? I am white, so I fit this category. I am also a woman, which means there are other biases I am faced with that my male colleagues do not experience.

      I grew up in a small town among a citizenry that was typically middle class, yet I was several rungs below most of them on the socio-economic ladder. How does my "whiteness" in that experience compare to that of my white peers? What about my experience in a small town vs those who grew up in urban environments?

      Identity is a very complex construct and involves so many facets that I find it too simplistic to lump it into "white" vs "people of color." The experience and identity of someone from India is different from that of one from Mexico or Nigeria, yet we can (and often do) call all of those "people of color."

      Are we asking the right questions?

    3. race usually refers to people of color

      Race often DOES refer to people of color. Maybe that is part of the problem? That we define race by color? A couple of years ago, I taught high school American History using race and class as the lenses through which we viewed our history. We began the year with a discussion on race and its definition. After a LOT of discussion and analysis, the students concluded that "race" is not real, but rather a social construct. As is also discussed in these NYT articles: https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/06/16/how-fluid-is-racial-identity/race-and-racial-identity-are-social-constructs. I wonder whether we should broaden the discussion to the wider issues of diversity, equity and inclusion?

    4. notion of haunting to suggest the past always shapes the present.

      I totally agree with this. Which is why I become enraged when the collective "we" tries to bury the past of our (American) history. In this category I include things like erasing artifacts of the American Civil War. The only way we will be able to heal the injuries is with honest conversations about our history, facing all the ugly AND beautiful truths.

  2. Sep 2019
    1. go over the article as a class and take things slower at the beginning so things aren’t to overwhelming at the start

      This looks like anxiety to me. The student wants to succeed and is concerned they are not well prepared?

    2. Should I devote some lab time to Blackboard mad skillz training?

      Is this for you to do, or some university Blackboard guru?

  3. May 2019
    1. seeking alignment with the state, district, and school protocols as well as their per-sonal and collective vision and sense of purpose. Some students opted out of this project while ex-pressing openly their doubts and reticence

      I sympathize with the students' desire to find a more respectful name than "sweeping." They seem to have been effective in creating change, which is admirable. I wonder what steps have taken place to help the students understand how their tardiness impacts their learning?

  4. Apr 2019
    1. food desert.

      This is a difficult chicken-egg situation. Grocery stores say they don't stock fresh fruits and vegetables because they don't sell; residents are discouraged because they can't find fresh foods. One form of combat I LOVE is the Green Bronx Machine, out of New York. https://greenbronxmachine.org/about-us/

    2. greater control over how the spaces in which we live are socially produced

      An excellent example of this, also in Chicago, is the Mexican-American area known as Pilsen. One way the community has taken control is through the development of street murals, described here: https://interactive.wttw.com/my-neighborhood/pilsen/art-as-activism.

  5. Jan 2019
    1. with the goal of producing learners who arewell-prepared for the complexities of today’s workplace.

      Bingo. Is that not the goal of education? To prepare learners for the workplace (and for civic participation).

    2. apply learning in novel situations

      Which is why "drill and kill" learning is ineffective. Learners must be able to generalize their learning to multiple domains and a broad variety of situations. In other words, to think.

    3. reflecting in community and dialoguehelps learners develop a metacognitive awareness of connections between theory,values and practice

      The purpose of this community, and this activity of annotation, non?

    4. the age of thelearner (where centering student learning became more important than teaching)
    5. but is ever present in the world of educational technology

      I've tried in vain to find an article I read in the recent past about how only a small percentage of educational technology products are effective in improving student achievement. I also enjoyed this article/chart, which illustrates how technology is a TOOL, not the method: https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

    1. Are these offshoots mere distractions, particularly given they don’t thematically connect?

      I would say they broaden the conversation.

    2. Is the reader in me, interpreting?

      Of course! Always!

    3. What role does the reader bring to a text as a writer?

      Whatever they contribute. It is easy to read without ever voicing anything. If I remain silent as a reader, it begs the question "if a tree falls in the forest..." It is only when I participate, respond to the text that I "bring" anything.

    4. Is it public writing?

      It must be public writing, since it is accessible to all who find it.

  6. Nov 2018
    1. the doctors, unthinkingly embracing the latest medical breakthrough, do not even demand a psychological test to determine the wisdom of bringing the gift of hearing to people who have managed for 65 years without it

      Meliora students, what do you think about this statement? Are there times "medical miracles" should NOT be used? Please give example(s).

    2. despite being deaf, she was the gossip editor of her high-school newspaper

      Meliora students, how do you think she achieved this?

    3. hearing has become the most burdensome of the senses. One only has to consider the number of ear plugs, sound-canceling devices, tranquilizers, and sleeping pills being purchased to attest to that.

      Meliora students, what do you think? Is your world inundated with noise? What actions do you take when you're surrounded by too much noise?

  7. Oct 2018
    1. Many of the new nations resisted the pressure to be drawn into the Cold War, joined in the “nonaligned movement,” which formed after the Bandung conference of 1955, and focused on internal development.

      Meliora students, what specific ideals does this organization have? What role(s) does this organization have today? Provide a summary and cite your source.

    2. Nearly all of the United States’ European allies believed that after their recovery from World War II their colonies would finally provide the combination of raw materials and protected markets for finished goods that would cement the colonies to Europe.

      Meliora students, the European belief that their colonies would want to continue to be colonies because of economic ties was incorrect. In today's global economy, are there examples of "colonization?" Are there countries that exert influence (e.g. money/aid, services, etc.) on other, economically disadvantaged countries? See if you can find an example and summarize it below, with a citation of your source.

    3. dividing ethnic and linguistic groups and natural features, and laying the foundation for the creation of numerous states lacking geographic, linguistic, ethnic, or political affinity.

      Meliora students, find an example of a country that has struggled (past or present) as a result of such artificial boundaries. Summarize your findings, and provide a citation for your source.

    4. the industrializing powers of Europe viewed the African and Asian continents as reservoirs of raw materials, labor, and territory for future settlement.

      Meliora students, does this behavior still exist in world politics? This article refers specifically to European powers; consider as well whether the United States has engaged in exploitation of other countries' resources.

      Find an example of such exploitation (if it exists) and summarize it. Include a citation of your source.

    5. Some European governments welcomed a new relationship with their former colonies; others contested decolonization militarily.

      Meliora students, please find an example of a country that won its independence from Europe through military force. Summarize what happened, and include a citation of your source.

  8. Sep 2018
    1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

      Meliora students, which of these rights do you think are most often violated in Europe? Provide a link to EVIDENCE.

    2. Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (

      Meliora students, how many countries were represented in drafting this document? From how many and which continents?

    3. Preamble

      Meliora students, please annotate phrases in this document which echo phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence and/or Constitution.

  9. Aug 2018
    1. The importance of recurrence for both young and older readers involves the ability to go back, to check and evaluate one’s understanding of a text.

      I don't know if this article is where I first read this idea, but maybe haptics are part of the equation?

      "Being able to flip back and forth between pages, to hold a physical item that changes appearance as one moves through it (e.g., early in a book or magazine there are more pages on the right, and as the reader nears the end his or her progress is marked by a stack of pages on the left), and to refer to the printed item’s topography to find information in it are all print features that onscreen media lack."

    2. the potential inability of large numbers of students to read with a level of critical analysis sufficient to comprehend the complexity of thought and argument found in more demanding texts, whether in literature and science in college

      In a recent conversation with my voracious literature-consuming son, I expressed impatience with (adult) reviewers on Goodreads who complain about books when they jump backwards and forwards in time and/or between different characters' points of view. My son pointed out that to follow these jumps is a learned skill, and it takes a lot of practice. Something I hadn't even considered, since these are adult reviewers.

      In a similar vein, I find the teens I teach to want immediate action and a linear path, regardless of the storytelling format (e.g. film vs. book). This saddens me, as there is so much richness in taking time to build characters, plot, suspense, etc.

    3. empathy

      I find it fascinating that there is a link between reading literary fiction and developing empathy.

  10. May 2018
    1. empower all who want to share what they know to find those who want to learn it from them; and, finally, furnish all who want to present an issue to the public with the opportunity to make their challenge known.

      "empower all who want to share..." a great goal for all us us.

    2. The proud dependence on school is gone

      Hmmmmmm, not where I live. There is a significant focus on being in the "right" school district and reliance on sports.

    3. As long as the relations continue to be those between a supplier and a consumer, educational research will remain a circular process. It will amass scientific evidence in support of the need for more educational packages and for their more deadly accurate delivery to the individual customer, just as a certain brand of social science can prove the need for the delivery of more military treatment.

      BigData

    4. It should be obvious that even with schools of equal quality a poor child can seldom catch up with a rich one. Even if they attend equal schools and begin at the same age, poor children lack most of the educational opportunities which are casually available to the middle-class child. These advantages range from conversation and books in the home to vacation travel and a different sense of oneself, and apply, for the child who enjoys them, both in and out of school. So the poorer student will generally fall behind so long as he depends on school for advancement or learning. The poor need funds to enable them to learn, not to get certified for the treatment of their alleged disproportionate deficiencies.

      A scene from Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by JD Vance, has stuck with me. It was not about educational attainment, but social class, which I posit is intertwined with everything else in our lives. Vance was attending Yale Law School, and went to a dinner for soon-to-be graduates being wooed by a variety of law practices. As he surveyed the dining room, he was aghast at the proliferation of cutlery surrounding the dinner plates. In a panic, he went to the restroom and called his girlfriend to get the lowdown on cutlery protocol. As someone who comes from a working-class background, I totally identify with this scene. We are products not only of our access to quality education, but overall environment. I don't have magic answers to how to mitigate the chasm between classes, but I am convinced that most parents want their children to have lives that exceed the limitations (economic, educational, social) they have faced. How do we achieve this?

    5. Both view doctoring oneself as irresponsible, learning on one's own as unreliable, and community organization, when not paid for by those in authority, as a form of aggression or subversion.

      autodidact noun au·to·di·dact \ ˌȯ-tō-ˈdī-ˌdakt , -dī-ˈ , -də-ˈ \ : a self-taught person

      List of famous autodidacts

    6. Many students, especially those who are poor, intuitively know what the schools do for them.

      “If the streets shackled my right leg, the schools shackled my left. Fail to comprehend the streets and you gave up your body now. But fail to comprehend the schools and you gave up your body later.” ― Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me

    1. Or draft justification statements to explain how their projects are indeed covering Common Core standards (really—we’ve read some)

      I would argue a well-designed project does a better job of covering the standards.It definitely provides a more #authentic, #real-world environment.

    2. With civic en-gagement in the classroom, can teachers keep from promoting their own political and social views with their students?

      Always a danger, something we need to be very conscious of, even as we ask questions.

  11. Apr 2018
  12. Mar 2018
    1. Hemings shared a father, John Wayles, with Jefferson’s wife, Martha.

      Therefore, the familial relationship between Martha Jefferson and Sally Hemings was what, Meliora students? A gold star to the first person to correctly answer.

    2. What did this mean for the institution of slavery in America? What did it mean for the hundreds of other people Jefferson enslaved during his lifetime? Virtually nothing, as it did not transform American slavery or change the lives of others enslaved on Jefferson’s plantations. But it meant a great deal to the six Hemings-Wayles children, who had very different lives and destinies than others enslaved at Monticello.

      Meliora students, what other examples are there of black people (enslaved or not enslaved) whose own life didn't change, but whose actions helped change the lives of others? Be specific, and include a link to your source.

    3. Jefferson was on the defensive about this his entire time in the country. That is almost certainly why he put James and Sally Hemings on the payroll with the other servants at his residence, the Hôtel de Langeac. The siblings were paid wages near the very highest rate in the city for a chef de cuisine and chambermaid. They had access to other people of color, as their neighborhood had the greatest concentration of such people in Paris, a small group who helped one another. There were lawyers who filed petitions on behalf of the enslaved. They did so pro bono and for money, which the Hemings siblings had.

      Meliora students, in Between the World and Me, how did Ta-Nehisi Coates describe his experience in Paris? Please provide a brief summary below.

    4. decades of historiography that makes clear that enslaved people, when they had chances, often acted to shape their circumstances to the extent that they could

      Meliora students, find an example of another enslaved person who made choices that helped them improve their circumstances. Briefly describe how the slave influenced their situation, and provide a link to your source.

    5. A number of news reports as well as comments on social media discussing the plans drew the ire of many readers because they referred to Hemings as Jefferson’s “mistress” and used the word “relationship” to describe the connection between the pair, as if those words inevitably denote positive things. They do not, of course — especially when the word “mistress” is modified by the crucial word “enslaved.”

      Meliora students, what do you think? Given that Sally Hemings was enslaved, do you think it is appropriate to consider her interactions with Thomas Jefferson a "relationship?" Explain your answer.

    6. Jefferson would never be involved with “a slave girl” and that such a person was too low to have influenced Jefferson

      Meliora students, what are your thoughts? Would the disparity between Jefferson and Heming's status meant that she would have been unable to influence him? Explain your response.

  13. Feb 2018
    1. simulacrum

      Meliora students, what is the meaning of this word? Provide an example of another story (book, film, video game, etc.) that includes a simulacrum.

    2. The voice of one of the advanced mechas who finds David in the ice belongs to Ben Kingsley. It is not the first time in the film we hear it. Over the opening sequence, a dark shot of crashing waves, Kingsley sets the scene with a narration that has the tone of a religious text: famine, flooding, cities destroyed, humans sent into exile

      Meliora students, who caught this?

    3. One of the apparent objections was the epilogue set in the future: it was seen as both superfluous and a Spielbergian sop to sentiment: a snuggly, upbeat ending for a film that never courted one. Yet properly decoded, it's the opposite, and provides the film with a shattering payoff that raises it to the level of both directors' greatest work.

      Meliora students, what do you think of this claim? Do you agree or disagree? Why? Specifics, please.

    4. The film ends with mother and son lying sweetly in bed together, and David, the narrator tells us, drifting off "to that place where dreams are born".

      Meliora students, what did you think of this scene? What is the narrator implying about David's ability to dream?

    5. the mechas in AI behave with more humanity than the humans around them

      Meliora students, do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Provide a specific example to support your viewpoint.

    6. Dr Hobby

      Meliora students, what do you think of this name? Was it accidental? Why may the filmmakers chosen this name for the character?

    7. The film is an Oedipal fairy tale about a robot boy called David driven by his programming to seek a mother's love.

      Meliora students, what is the story of Oedipus? Who was it written by? When? What is another story (book, film) you know that uses the Oedipal theme?

    1. Multiple poles exist and different communities coalescearound them and never even enter the same conversation with one anotherbecause their social reality is not the same

      Their social reality is not the same. What about economic? Demographic?

    2. were a series of well-established reputable news organizations and

      Playing devil's advocate, how reliable was their report?

    1. But it’s not just taking a seat. It’s feeling confident and competent and comfortable enough to join in with the conversation that is happening at that table. And knowing, when the talking stops, and the faces turn expectedly, how to share one’s opinion in a way that makes it able to be heard.

      I see this as a two-way street. We want to join the conversation at the table, and to feel we will be heard. We also need to be open to listening to the opinions/ideas of the others at the table.

    1. And how online this is more complicated because text hides tone or can relay misunderstandings of tone

      Yes! I find even when I know a person well, sometimes I miss tone. Just think how much worse it is when it is someone we don't know well and/or someone whose native tongue is different than ours!

    1. I feel like there is not so much ‘randomness’ nowadays because circles and networks are becoming so intertwined and online connections are just becoming more globa

      A decade ago, when MySpace was still king, I did a research paper on social media and philanthropy. One of the interesting sources I used was the book Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi. There is much I have forgotten, but one point he made that stuck with me is that "Six Degrees of Separation" has diminished to 2-3 with the advent of the internet and social media. He posited that number would shrink even further over time, which perhaps it has.

      I feel like this is a two-edged sword, like most advancements. I personally am thankful to be able to keep in touch more easily with people I care about, regardless of their geographical location.

      I have also found a community of other professionals whom I value on many levels - colleague, sounding board, and in some cases people I would label as "friend."

      On the flip side, I am conscious of the fact that it is easy to enter an "echo chamber," where my virtual circle agrees with my opinions and I don't have to substantiate my point of view. I work to enter the lairs of other viewpoints, to keep an open mind, and to enter into civil discourse.

    1. Info-environmentalism encourages us to clean up polluted information environments, to actively create and share credible, research-based, balanced information and web-artefacts.

      I think this is a great goal. Another "literacy" I work to develop in my teen students is to dive below the surface. It is easy for them to find valid surface information about a topic, and weave it together into a coherent, credible story. However, I struggle to get them to investigate further. They will report (correctly) that "B campaigned for G to happen." However, when asked "Why did B feel it important to campaign for G?" I often get blank stares. I just keep asking questions.

    1. I would argue that there are few noble uses for polarization

      Agreed. So how does the highly polarized US reduce this, and begin to find common ground?

    1. Curiosity brought people together in a way that mere facts did not.

      Yes! Curiosity, combined with lively, respectful debate.

    2. The hurdle was 10 articles and two opinion pieces over three months.

      Yikes!

    3. If all your time is [spent] checking someone else’s facts, then what are you doing?”

      I think a lot of that is happening right now with Trump. He is deflecting the American public into checking facts while the bigger issues are quietly being unattended in the background.

  14. Jan 2018
    1. Republican Party

      Meliora students, how and why did the Republican Party get founded? What were the initial "planks" in its platform? Summarize and cite your source(s).

    2. Senator Stephen Douglas

      Meliora students, who was Stephen Douglas? (We've met him in some of our other reading.) In addition to this act, find another example of legislation he introduced and fought for in Congress. Summarize and cite your source(s). Do not use an example one of your classmates has already used.

    1. Supreme Court

      Meliora students, what was the case about? Summarize and cite your source(s).

    2. Dred Scott v. Sandford

      Meliora students, who was Dred Scott? Who was Sanford? Summarize and cite your source(s).

    1. That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the Indians in said Territory, so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or to include any territory which, by treaty with any Indian tribe, is not, without the consent of said tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any State or Territory; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the boundaries, and constitute no part of the Territory of Kansas, until said tribe shall signify their assent to the President of the United States to be included within the said Territory of Kansas, or to affect the authority of the government of the United States to make any regulation respecting such Indians, their lands, property, or other rights, by treaty, law, or otherwise, which it would have been competent to the government to make if this act had never passed.

      Meliora students, at this time (1854), what treaty(ies) existed between the US government and any Native American tribes that lived within the boundaries of the "Territory of Kansas?" Cite your source(s) of information.

    2. That all that part of the Territory of the United States included within the following limits, except such portions thereof as are hereinafter expressly exempted from the operations of this act, to wit, beginning at a point on the western boundary of the State of Missouri, where the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude crosses the same; thence west on said parallel to the eastern boundary of New Mexico; thence north on said boundary to latitude thirty-eight; thence following said boundary westward to the east boundary of the Territory of Utah, on the summit of the Rocky Mountains; thence northward on said summit to the fortieth parallel of latitude, thence east on said parallel to the western boundary of the State of Missouri; thence south with the western boundary of said State to the place of beginning, be, and the same is hereby, created into a temporary government by the name of the Territory of Kansas

      Meliora students, what current-day states are included in this definition of the "Territory of Kansas?"

    3. That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to inhibit the government of the United States from dividing said Territory into two or more Territories, in such manner and at such times as Congress shall deem convenient and proper, or from attaching any portion of said Territory to any other State or Territory of the United State

      Meliora students, this clause gave the US government the right to divide the Kansas territory into multiple territories or states. Based on the statements in Sec. 14 of this document, what would each territory/state have the right to do in regards to slavery?

    4. it being the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into any Territory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form an regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States

      Meliora students, what is this saying? What right(s) did it transfer from the federal government to the states and territories?

    5. being inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by Congress with slaves in the States and Territories, as recognized by the legislation of eighteen hundred and fifty, commonly called the Compromise Measures,

      Meliora students, this refers to the 1850 Compromise, which is summarized here: https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Compromise1850.html

    6. That the Constitution, and all Laws of the United States which are not locally inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect within the said Territory of Nebraska as elsewhere within the United States, except the eighth section of the act preparatory to the admission of Missouri into the Union approved March sixth, eighteen hundred and twenty,

      Meliora students, this refers to the Missouri Compromise, which we will also annotate.

    7. rovided further, That nothing in this act contained shall construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining the Indians in said Territory' so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or include any territory which, by treaty with any Indian tribe, is not, without the consent of said tribe, to be included within the territorial line or jurisdiction of any State or Territory; but all such territory shall excepted out of the boundaries, and constitute no part of the Territory of Nebraska, until said tribe shall signify their assent to the President of the United States to be included within the said Territory of Nebraska. or to affect the authority of the government of the United States make any regulations respecting such Indians, their lands, property, or other rights, by treaty, law, or otherwise, which it would have been competent to the government to make if this act had never passed.

      Meliora students, what does this mean? Extra credit to anyone who comes to class with a simple summary of the treaty(ies) in place at this time (1854) with Native Americans.

    1. ‘‘backfireeffect’

      I saw this recently, where someone had refuted a claim by posting a link to a Snopes critique, and the original poster replied saying she thinks Snopes is tainted.

    2. it is now far easier for indi-viduals to choose the source and partisan slant of the information and per-spectives to which they are exposed (

      Social media is accelerating that process; we live in our "echo chambers.". http://n.pr/2G5AqUD

  15. Dec 2017
    1. Students have written imaginative stories set in nightclubs where jazz greats came to play and their grandparents met and fell in love, cafés that once held the laughter of Black voices, or the basements of an elder’s home where neighbors organized to protest urban renewal.

      These sound like stories of hope!

    2. we dive into historical background that includes redlining, real estate covenants that didn’t allow people of color to live in certain sections of the city

      In our history class we also looked at how this took place in Chicago. I also had the students annotate (using hypothes.is) [Executive Order 1376 Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements] ( https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/30/2017-02095/border-security-and-immigration-enforcement-improvements) as a way for them to critically research and analyze current-day events.

    3. I ask them to write a narrative about a time their homes were lost, stolen, or restored

      What an awesome idea! I may borrow it!

    4. I moved in the right direction when I stopped believing that I was the one who knew and they were the ones who needed to know.

      Yeah, we need to get over ourselves. And, lose our fear of not knowing something. And be willing to actually acknowledge to the students we don't know something!

  16. Nov 2017
    1. Why is this worth studying?

      An excellent question at all levels of education, K-20 and beyond. It's important for students and educators to be able to connect course content to real-world application.

    2. These are students who have out-of-the-box ideas for interdisciplinary degrees that are based on their own personal passions and life goals.

      I would love to see this as the norm!

  17. Oct 2017
    1. This is no time (My Lord) to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism

      Meliora students, what does MLK mean by "cooling off" and "gradualism?"

    2. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

      Meliora students, are there similar movements going on today? Provide a short response (a sentence or two) and a link to a source that supports your position.

    3. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.

      Meliora students, do you agree or disagree with MLK's stance? Do you think violent or peaceful protests are more effective? Provide evidence (link to source(s)) to support your viewpoint.

    4. We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.

      Meliora students, has this changed? Statistically speaking, how much have the number of (reported) cases changed in the past 45 years? Provide a link to a source.

    5. And if America is to be a great nation (Yes), this must become true.

      Meliora students, do you agree with this statement? Is racial equality a prerequisite for American being a great nation? Why?

    6. One hundred years later (All right), the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.

      Meliora students, it has been 45 years since MLK made this statement. How much has the relative wealth of black people improved since then (gap between wealth of blacks and whites)? Write a short answer, and include a link to a source.

    1. perhaps an expert’s failure to be aware of who his audience is, but for whatever reason my students didn’t get it.

      And we wonder why some students do better than others on standardized tests? One test for 3.6 million students from a plethora of backgrounds and experiences?

      https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

    2. while I understand that there is research on the power of summary writing in learning, I am uncertain how that skill is supposed to effect my students’ learning.

      Summary writing is a form of synthesis, n'est-ce pas? It requires higher-order cognition. As the summarizing gets better, the ability to synthesize gets better... a never-ending loop of improvement in cognition.

    1. secure the southern border of the United States through the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border, monitored and supported by adequate personnel so as to prevent illegal immigration, drug and human trafficking, and acts of terrorism

      Meliora students, what are the estimated costs to build such a wall?

    2. Secure Fence Act and IIRIRA

      Meliora students, what are the "Secure Fence Act" and "IIRIRA?" Please provide a short summary of their intent and when they were enacted.

    3. Transnational criminal organizations operate sophisticated drug- and human-trafficking networks and smuggling operations on both sides of the southern border, contributing to a significant increase in violent crime and United States deaths from dangerous drugs.

      Meliora students, please find sources that detail the incidences and costs of drug- and human-trafficking coming from the southern border of the United States.

    4. The head of each executive department and agency shall identify and quantify all sources of direct and indirect Federal aid or assistance to the Government of Mexico on an annual basis over the past five years, including all bilateral and multilateral development aid, economic assistance, humanitarian aid, and military aid. Within 30 days of the date of this order, the head of each executive department and agency shall submit this information to the Secretary of State. Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall submit to the President a consolidated report reflecting the levels of such aid and assistance that has been provided annually, over each of the past five years.

      Meliora students, how much does the US Federal government spend on aid/assistance to Mexico each year?

    5. fear determinations

      Meliora students, what is a "fear determination?"

    6. The recent surge of illegal immigration at the southern border with Mexico has placed a significant strain on Federal resources and overwhelmed agencies charged with border security and immigration enforcement, as well as the local communities into which many of the aliens are placed.

      Meliora students, please find reliable evidence of the costs related to illegal immigration.

    7. Aliens who illegally enter the United States without inspection or admission present a significant threat to national security and public safety.

      Meliora students, what do you think of this? Please find evidence of the veracity (or not) of this statement.

  18. Jul 2017
    1. As students do their literature review and content curation, I’m interested in something other than each student keeping it in a doc or a blog page. I’m thinking about maybe using a diigo group, but also, I am thinking we should all use Zotero maybe a group? I have zero experience there, so welcome feedback.

      Is there opportunity for peer review of the literature review work?

    2. online talk in TED format

      I like this idea. Question: does it need to be TED format, or could they have more options as to how they present?

  19. May 2017
    1. hope

      Wouldn't it be great if even the most marginalized could end their time with us with a sense of hope?

  20. Feb 2017
    1. famously disparaging world-building as "the great clomping foot of nerdism."

      Do you agree? Why or why not?

    2. And Martin can spend page after exhausting page detailing the coat-of-arms of every attendee at a royal banquet.

      What do you think about this? What level of detail is appropriate? How is it different for a short story compared to a novel?

  21. Jan 2017
    1. For many of us, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between our real selves and our virtual selves, and in fact, these distinctions are being altogether unsettled

      Why should there be a difference between our real and virtual selves?

    2. content is co-constructed as part of and not in advance of the learning.

      I consider this a "just-in-time" process. For example, teaching students fractions with no context and no application loses some of them. Teaching them fractions "just-in-time" to plan out a garden plot offers them a tangible, practical reason to understand fractions and is more likely to engage them in the learning.

  22. Aug 2016
    1. a) your skills will be in demand because you’ve created a demand for them

      Interesting assertion. I think something that matters to me will only be in demand if there are enough other people who agree with me and highly value my skills.

  23. Jun 2016
    1. burns its strength into the blistered rock

      I find the forceful physicality of the imagery very memorable.

  24. May 2016
    1. Learning is the wolf

      Is learning the wolf in the fold, or is schooling the wolf? I think learning is magic, and ongoing, and in the bestest of worlds, an absolute delight.

  25. Apr 2016
  26. impedagogy.com impedagogy.com
    1. Fraud!

      So, if all of this is a fraud, what education (as opposed to school) structure results in truth?

    1. Ripping Off Young America: The College-Loan Scandal

      I wonder if any of the rest of you have seen today's NYT article related to this topic?

      http://nyti.ms/1RL1RV8

    1. Most of my students are risk-averse, strategic, and heavily into default mode despite the fact that I have repeatedly advised them that I value risk.

      This seems to be a factor in all levels of education. This is a BIG problem, because we require citizens who think and are open to taking risks. It also reminds me that if I tell students I value risk, I need to stand behind that in my reactions.

  27. Mar 2016
    1. “living curriculum”

      Love this term. In my ideal world, all curricula would be "living," forever shapeshifting and improving.

    2. professional development facilitators can design with flexible structures that allow for convergence, divergence, and aleatory pathways arising in interaction.

      Do you realize how queasy that would make many/most PD facilitators?

    3. #SilentSunday

      Love #SilentSunday! Great community builder.

    4. remix literacies extend beyond objects to include socially shared practices and processes

      For sure! Who among us has not seen students huddled together over a digital device, where one of them is showing the others how s/he accomplished some spectacular Snapchat result?

    5. Zeega

      Ah, yes, where is Zeega hiding, tellio?

    6. fetishize

      Is this really a word???

    7. disruption, diffraction, and bifurcation

      I would argue that today's youth are already using social media for exactly this purpose. In many instances within their intimate social groups, to play pranks on each other, etc. Also to make (often unflattering) statements about the adults in their lives.

    8. does something different with the tools, processes, structures, and/or accumulated content in the community

      The "something different" is key. In Walter Isaacson's book The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, he argues that many innovations are merely tweaks of work done by others, and that most innovations are not the work of one person, but several working together who each have different skills/strengths.

    9. iterative, collaborative, critical practice

      All characteristics of inquiry/project-based methodologies.

  28. Feb 2016
    1. Each of their other university courses are layered atop and through this map, each of their working lives interlaced, their personal lives fusing it all together.

      I'm interpreting this to mean they have a variety of (unconnected) courses, plus their outside lives. Have there been any discussions within the university about doing inter/multi-disciplinary courses, to create connections?

    2. I mapped it further with my digital friend, Thinglink, using their video annotation capabilities.

      I haven't used ThingLink's video annotation, so thanks for inspiring me to try it. Do you have a sense for how many of the students: 1) watched the video; 2) clicked on the blue tags?

  29. Jan 2016
    1. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/what-classrooms-can-learn-from-magic/425100/

      I like that you are using this article to launch the topic, provide low- (no-?) stakes practice, and to invite the students into the conversation.