Harlem Children’s Zone

This is the second podcast I’ve listened to that focuses on Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children’s Zone, but it’s definitely not the first time I’ve heard of this project or of him. I believe that President Obama is trying to replicate this model in 20 urban cities and it will be interesting to see what part of the Bay Area will pick up the federal dollars to make this happen.

What I found most striking about this model is that is starts with children from the 0 – 3 range and uses a “conveyor belt” to get them to college. Another fascinating and sobering point that Canada makes is that they had to make the decision to focus all of their efforts on raising the children out of poverty and not necessarily their parents. So, a young, single mother might go to baby college, but in the end it is the child who will rise from poverty, it is hoped, and not the parent. A tough decision.

Freshman Comp Emotions

I’m not sure if you can get past the log-in to read this article, but basically it’s a composition teacher who feels a bit shocked by the raw emotions displayed by a couple of his students. One refuses to discuss the content of an essay, saying his mother thought it was alright. A second student profiled in this essay writes well, but then refuses to present a book because she hates it.

What the author is getting at is the generally toddler-like attitude of these the students. He thinks it’s a change that’s occurred over the last 20 years of his teaching composition, but I think that students have felt this way from the beginning and that they’re willingness to give voice to these complaints is relatively new. So much of society is structured around people learning how to bite their tongues and hold back what they really think, but it seems that as students have more license to express their feelings, the more of this will come out. Of course, what does that mean for a college that is trying to split the mind and body even more?

http://chronicle.com/article/Freshman-Comp-Tantrums/48431/

Lost Jobs, Lost Hope…. Where’s the Happiness?

I’m not sure how this fits into what topic, but I had once had a unit on happiness and money, which I think connects to this article. In the US, we feel such an intense desire to keep up with the Joneses that I think it breeds a kind of stress or anxiety that is, in the end, unhealthy… I’m not sure how to help people unplug from these expectations, but I feel like the education system peddles in these dreams… Are schools and teachers who preach that education will lead to material stability and happiness complicit in creating this emotionally compelling, but impossible to attain trajectory?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/business/economy/13excerpt.html

Lawyers Getting Busted on Facebook

An interesting little story about how a lawyer who decided to complain about his case was brought before a judge for his remarks. Facebook is still considered the public, even when we set our privacy settings, and we have to act like it is… But doesn’t that feel like the long arm of the law creeping in on our playgrounds? I mean, what happens if you’re at a cafe complaining about a boss, a teacher, a cop, and then someone reports you? Isn’t that a little too much listening?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/13lawyers.html?_r=1

Facebook Ruins Friendships?

A friend referenced this site as we were discussing the benefits of social networking sites. Do we learn more from friends? Do you add co-workers to your facebook profile? What are the boundaries and how does it work?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204660604574370450465849142.html

Transfer from community colleges…. Not exactly as promised..

I’ve had the nagging suspicion that transfer to the CSU or UC of your choice out of a community college system isn’t as simple as it sounds, and this article confirms some of those suspicions. I’m not sure what it means, especially since the state has less money to try to do more.

I keep thinking that there has to be a way for students to begin to develop resources for each other? They’re the ones who make it or don’t make it through, who know the ins and outs, so maybe we need to help facilitate more student services being performed by students?

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-transfer27-2009aug27,0,1375113.story

Personal Statements….

Even though working in an office with desks abutted, not enough chairs, and conversations crossing back and forth between two rooms can be quite distracting, it’s also beautiful how easy it is to share lesson plans, worries, or concerns (I just had a long talk about VBACs and other birthing issues). One of my colleagues, Gabe, just sent me this link for a wonderful statement of purpose from a local student. I’m going to share it in class today.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/65407

Who uses twitter the most… “Old” people.

Interesting article on who has spurred the growth of twitter. It makes me think that older folks have a firmer grasp on how to publicly share what’s going on in their lives OR are less insecure about doing this kind of sharing than a younger set. Maybe because we’ve lost so much contact with other people, this is one way to keep up. We’re in need of community more than BFFs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html

Second life…

I’m all for using technology to make learning accessible, interesting, and relevant, but for some reason this edu-advertisement for second life gives me the creeps. I’m not sure if learning all of these things online gives students enough real experience, lots of artificial experience for sure, but not the real, skin in your body kind of experience that makes learning really work.

I’m curious to see what happens as creative folks begin to use this technology to really make it work. Thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOFU9oUF2HA

Is it a crime to be poor…?

This article points out how many of our municipal governments are turning acts of poverty–panhandling, sleeping under the freeway, looking like you’re on public assistance–into sources of revenue or reasons for incarceration. It seems like a world not much different than the one Kafka wrote about almost a century ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09ehrenreich.html?_r=1