Today our class lists for the 2011-12 school year are made available to us. For teachers, this marks the beginning of the end of summer. I’m updating this from my other class I am taking this summer: HIS 307 - a study of apocalypse narratives; a fascinating class so far, but also a sign of the encroaching end of summer. From here on out when I update this it will likely be from teacher mode and not so much student or culture-ist.
The eating habits of Mac users v. PC users. Nothing too surprising here. Although “Mac users prefer bistro fries” makes us wonder what exactly bistro fries are. Who knows! Sounds fussy!
See the entire infographic of the divided lifestyles of Mac and PC users over at Hunch
(via ilovecharts)
Adulthood.
Tom Hanks: Best Movie Roles
1. Toy Story 1 - 3 (1995 - 2010)
The Role: Woody
Why It’s The Best: He’s the most loveable, brave and witty sheriff in the land. Despite showing off game-changing tech, Toy Story is a timeless classic that’s loved by audiences of all ages. Tom Hanks voices the hero of the film, helping to bring an inanimate cowboy doll to life.
Hanks has played Sheriff Woody across 15 years, never failing to deliver the winning combination of snarky sass and homespun charm.
Iconic Moment: “YOU ARE A TOY!” Perhaps the most iconic line from the Toy Story series.
And let’s not overlook the emotional climax of Toy Story 3, where adults across the world were brought to floods of tears at the scene of the toys’ impending fiery doom.
Tom Says: “Woody is a passionate guy who throws himself into every action. As soon as he has an instinctive thought like “I have to help them,” or “I have to run away,” he does it with 100 percent commitment. You gotta love that about anybody.”
(Source: totalfilm)
I had promised in my last post to update periodically from the AP Summer Institute at UW Madison, but between AP sessions and AP curriculum writing, I had virtually no time to access my blog.
On the conference…
As with most conferences, the high points were few and far between, but the nuggets of useful ideas for scoring AP practice exams and the nature of merging AP Language with an American Lit survey were beneficial to me and those I was with. The five day conference could have been condensed into three strong days and been better for everyone (except those profiting from presenting for five days, of course).
On the curriculum design…
Basically, I and my two counterparts from Normal West are rock stars. We wrote an entire year long curriculum, designed assessments, created a pacing guide, and aligned objectives and all of the aforementioned components to both the AP Language and Composition standards AND the Common Core standards. As far as we can tell, we are the first district in the country to have done this kind of work.
It was an exhausting week, but ultimately very rewarding.
…and the mission (surprise, surprise) has not been accomplished. War requires the consent to two active bodies (individual, militaristic, national, regional, etc,). War cannot be waged on inanimate objects (drugs, terror, freedom) and ever attain the desired result of those waging the so-called war. War on inanimate objects is an expensive exercise in clever rhetoric, at best. That being said, are we really surprised it began with Nixon?
Honoring the profession does NOT mean it does not get challenged, only that such challenges occur in the appropriate moral tone, with the attached expectation that professionals are positively willing to submit themselves to their profession and its arbiters, when said arbiters are themselves education professionals. Lianna Nix
I’ve begun this blog for a summer graduate course, C&I 401. (Because teachers have summers off, remember.) Upon seeing all of the options available for posting, etc, I intend to keep this going beyond the length and requirements of the course. Next week I will be attending a week-long training/seminar for AP Language and AP Literature. I will update periodically with anything I find worth posting. Until then, continue enjoying the random updates of things that amuse me from around the web.
Jimmy Chen’s Psychological Profile
“In which this contributor self-diagnoses and conceptualizes his psychological paradigm in effort to acclimate his new therapist, whose task may be somewhat ponderous.”
How grad school is just like kindergarten.
“I think students that were failing last year won’t fail next year because they can learn in a different way.”
A very bold statement made by a board member upon the agreement iPads would be purchased for freshmen and sophomores next year.
I hate it when they make public statements like this, because it sets the bar way too damn high.
![Stephen Colbert on performing in Sondheim’s Company: “I tell a lot of young performers, ‘Go get in trouble. Go commit yourself to something you’re not sure you can do. And I followed my own advice. It was something I desperately wanted to do — not as a career — but an invitation I knew I couldn’t refuse and yet had no sense of whether or not I could do it. And that is trouble — but it was all so joyful. I’m very grateful to Mr. Sondheim that he got me in such trouble.” [complete Colbert interview here]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmscajfXjm1qd9dz2o1_500.jpg)
Stephen Colbert on performing in Sondheim’s Company: “I tell a lot of young performers, ‘Go get in trouble. Go commit yourself to something you’re not sure you can do. And I followed my own advice. It was something I desperately wanted to do — not as a career — but an invitation I knew I couldn’t refuse and yet had no sense of whether or not I could do it. And that is trouble — but it was all so joyful. I’m very grateful to Mr. Sondheim that he got me in such trouble.” [complete Colbert interview here]
(via nprfreshair)
In the nonstop tsunami of global information, librarians provide us with floaties and teach us to swim.
(via world-shaker)
