Week+3+stuff+(cont.)

= Week 3 = = =

Hi again, everybody. I hope you had (or are still having) a good long weekend. This is the assignment page for Week 3.
CHECKING IN/PICKING UP LOOSE ENDS: Here's the weekly audio check-in. Click play to listen: media type="file" key="Week 3 check in.mp3" width="240" height="20"  A POEM: "Please don't talk to the reporters" This poem was written by one of your classmates in regard to a tragic event that occurred recently at her school. It is shared with the hope that others might look more closely at the children in these types of situations. Go here to read the poem, and if you'd like to respond, please use the "Discussion" tab on that page. 

1. WIKI MINI-ASSIGNMENT In his award-winning book //To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher,// first published in 1993, William Ayers traces his own path as a kindergarten teacher, and at the same time articulates an on-the-ground philosophy of education. “What does it mean to be a good teacher?” he seems to be asking himself on every page, and his answers are sketched in with stories and vignettes from his own classroom and from other teachers he knows.

Last month, //To Teach// was published in a new comic edition: //To Teach: The Journey, In Comics.// For this week’s wiki assignment, you will read a short excerpt from the chapter, “Liberating the Curriculum.” You can download a PDF file of the excerpt here (to be able to switch back and forth between the PDF and this website, right click the link and then select "Open link in new tab"):

After reading the selection, choose one of the six questions Ayers poses on pages 70-71, and write a few sentences about how you address that question (or don’t) in your own classroom. Or if none of those six questions grab you, share a few sentences about a specific step you’ve taken, even if a small one, to try to liberate your curriculum from the straightjacket of standardization and high-stakes testing. Click here to share your thoughts, and remember to check back in to see what others have said.

2. ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUPS - PART A Discussion questions for Part A will be posted late Sunday night. The assigned groups for this week’s Part A discussions are as follows:
 * **Group 1** || **Group 2** || **Group 3** || **Group 4** ||
 * Anne || Amy || Michelle || Jackie ||
 * Jill || Sarah M. || Stacy || Jennifer ||
 * YoungHak || Randy || Brandon || Adam ||
 * Brandi || Alison || Jodi || Kim ||
 * Erik || Mary || Molly || Sarah H. ||
 * Hannah ||  ||   || Cassy ||

Remember, even though you're only participating in one assigned discussion for Part A each week, I would like you to read the other discussion threads as well once all the responses have been posted (this should be by Wednesday of each week). In this way you can "listen in" on other discussions and learn from the insights of your classmates.

3. ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUPS - PART B This week's "discussion starters" for Part B will be posed by Adam, Cassy, Michelle, Brandi, Anne, and Stacy. They will be posted on this page's discussion board by Thursday morning (we usually post them by Wednesday evening, but I’m pushing it back a bit due to the long weekend). Remember, for Part B discussions you do not have assigned groups, so you can choose which discussion(s) you'd like to join. Those of you who ask this week's questions are still required to join a discussion – preferably someone else’s.

For some guidance on formulating your discussion questions, click here.