Blog Title: Beyond School

Out of Town, Happy Thanksgiving

Just a note to say my wife and I are going to an Extensive Reading conference for a working weekend in a resort area a couple hours south of Seoul. I hear there are hot springs, which sound good this cold week. So Happy Thanksgiving and see you on the other side. Enjoy the live puppycam read more.. Related posts:

1. A Great Idea for Drama Class: Performing Wasilla Town Meetings This is just hilarious, and a brilliant idea at the...
2. Valentine’s Thanksgiving The world is a much bigger place after six months...
3. My Suicidal High School Years: A Happy-Ending Bullying Story [Update 3 August 2008: If you want a written...

God, Obama, and Me: Annotations of BO’s 2004 Interview on His Religious Beliefs

Obama is a year older than me, and that’s only the beginning of the list of ways I relate to him. Here are more things we have in common: He didn’t grow up rich and privileged. When he got out of college, he drove a car with a rust-hole in the passenger side through which Michelle read more.. Related posts:

1. Against McCain, Obama, and Other Bailout Fundamentalists To riff off Bush/McCain’s mantra until they woke up last...
2. A Portrait of the Teacher as a Good Young Racist Georgia: “One good thing about Jennifer Hudson’s family tragedy -...
3. History, Emotional Objectivity, and “A Class Divided”: An Election Day Classroom Fantasy [caption id="attachment_1670" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Body Language: Blue-Eyes in Front, Brown-Eyes...

Ed-reads of Note: Farren on Green Econ Textbooks, Horn on Obama Ed Policy

Bill Farren of Education for Well-Being, one of my favorite sites, writes about the fatal assumption of economic theory, and some new economics textbooks that may mark a paradigm-shift by questioning those assumptions from a green economics standpoint. Well worth a read, for both economics and environmental science teachers. And Dr. Jim Horn, who writes at read more.. Related posts:

1. "We Can Highlight and Sticky-Note Websites, Too!" (One More Reason to Throw Out Textbooks) Diigo goes beyond del.icio.us by offering highlighting and annotation (posting...
2. Guest-Blogger Bill Farren: Education for Well-Being By Bill Farren on video I’ve invited Bill Farren,...
3. The Hidden Curriculum (guest-blogger Bill Farren, post 2) By Bill Farren on teaching [Clay here: In a...

Obama Thanks 7-Year-Old Political Blogger

How’s this for proof that student blogging can lead places? Pretty cool proof that if a kid can blog about more than his favorite video game or her cat, Fluffy, the sky’s the limit. Here’s some link-love for Stas’ blog. Maybe I’ll subscribe. If you like this post, please spread it: (But read more.. Related posts:

1. Blogger to Wordpress Redirect Blues Making the move from Blogger to a self-hosted WordPress is...
2. Give Tuna a Subscribe: She’s a Natural Student Blogger Tuna’s Aquarium via kwout Christina Kang is a senior...
3. Social Networks as a Political Force for Education (and, More Students 2.0 Sought) If I’ve learned anything in this year of blogging,...

Another Free US History Resource to Put Textbooks to Shame: PBS’ “The Presidents”

He wins in a Democrat landslide. Hopes are high for a progressive agenda unseen since the New Deal, and he delivers, in the first days of his presidency, an avalanche of legislation meant to fulfill those hopes. But he also inherits a military conflict that his advisers are counseling him to escalate - with a “surge,” read more.. Related posts:

1. History, Emotional Objectivity, and “A Class Divided”: An Election Day Classroom Fantasy [caption id="attachment_1670" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Body Language: Blue-Eyes in Front, Brown-Eyes...
2. Free Online Textbook for Science Teachers: NAS’ “Science, Evolution, and Creationism” When only 40% of American adults are scientifically literate enough...
3. Three Uses of Diigo in the History and Language Arts Classroom I’ve been a Diigo user for two years come July....

From Voting to Citizenship: A Quick Experience for Your Students

Looking ahead, I have great hope that we will have the courage to embrace the changes necessary to save our economy, our planet and ultimately ourselves. In an earlier transformative era in American history, President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon within 10 years. Eight years and two months read more.. Related posts:

1. Quick Round-Up: Bad Selflessness, Bad Morality, Edublog Awards, and Students 2.0 Blog Countdown I’m off to Bangkok for the Apple Distinguished Educator 2007...
2. Open Lesson to Students Everywhere: This is Real Learning, Quick-in, Quick-out Thanks to Jeff Utecht and the students in my activity...
3. A Belated Reflection on the Students 2.0 Experience If you haven’t read Ryan Bretag’s and Steve Hargadon’s posts...

History, Emotional Objectivity, and “A Class Divided”: An Election Day Classroom Fantasy

Preface: What I Learned from the Comments on My “Portrait of the Teacher as a Young Racist” Post I was surprised that my story of anti-black racism in the American South drew strong reactions in the comment thread from readers in New Zealand, Australia, England, and regions of the American Mid-west (where there were no African-Americans, read more.. Related posts:

1. On Carrotmobs and Election-Stealing: An Edu-Activism Fantasy After watching the following video on Dean Shareski’s blog (thanks...
2. Three Uses of Diigo in the History and Language Arts Classroom I’ve been a Diigo user for two years come July....
3. Another Free US History Resource to Put Textbooks to Shame: PBS’ “The Presidents” He wins in a Democrat landslide. Hopes are high...

Reads around the Web 11.04.2008

Campaign news, Supreme Court analysis, evolution and intelligent design textbook battles and history, the future of books and reading, “freedom of e-speech,” and more in today’s mix. My wife made me canvas for Obama; here’s what I learned | csmonitor.com By a Southern banker conservative. Hopeful, wry, beautiful. tags: obama, elections08, history, usa Declarations - WSJ.com Former Reagan speechwriter read more.. Related posts:

1. Free Online Textbook for Science Teachers: NAS’ “Science, Evolution, and Creationism” When only 40% of American adults are scientifically literate enough...
2. Quotable: “U.S. Schools as Islamic Madrassas” Call me crazy. I care that science not be confused...
3. Politics and Culture Reads around the Web 10/24/2008 Schools Matter: College Board Introduces New Test to Sort...

Does “Education Lead to the Left”? Recent Study Says Yes

Interesting post on “secular parenting” writer Dale McGowan’s The Meming of Life: ….If it’s true that education leads to the left, fear-based campaigning should increase in effectiveness as education levels decrease, and you’d expect states with the lowest per-capita educational attainment to favor the fear-mongering candidate. The list below ranks all 50 states and the District of read more.. Related posts:

1. Social Networks as a Political Force for Education (and, More Students 2.0 Sought) If I’ve learned anything in this year of blogging,...
2. The Most Important Edu Website I Know: Education for Well-Being Strikes Again Real-time Twitter Search - Tweet Scan Education for Well-Being...
3. Refining the Message: A Re-Post and Self-Check on Fear and Irrelevance in Education [This is a re-post from last summer. I was too...

A Portrait of the Teacher as a Good Young Racist

Georgia: “One good thing about Jennifer Hudson’s family tragedy - two less Obama voters.” A 57-year old grandmother is killed in her home, as is her 29-year-old son. A seven-year-old child is missing and there is every reason to fear for his survival as well. And [a reader who commented as] “Dagny and John’s Love Child” expresses pleasure read more.. Related posts:

1. God, Obama, and Me: Annotations of BO’s 2004 Interview on His Religious Beliefs Obama is a year older than me, and that’s only...
2. History, Emotional Objectivity, and “A Class Divided”: An Election Day Classroom Fantasy [caption id="attachment_1670" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Body Language: Blue-Eyes in Front, Brown-Eyes...
3. Education Podcasts Meme: Warlick, Fryer-McLeod, a Young Writer, and an Impassioned Secular Humanist Scott McLeod from Dangerously Irrelevant tagged me with this...