Nath. Sir, he hath not fed of the dainties that are bred of a book; he hath not eat paper, as it were; he hath not drunk ink: his intellect is not replenished; he is only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts:
And such barren plants are set before us, that we thankful should be,
Which we of taste and feeling are, for those parts that do fructify in us more than he;
For as it would ill become me to be vain, indiscreet, or a fool:
So, were there a patch set on learning, to see him in a school:
But, omne bene, say I; being of an old Father’s mind,
Many can brook the weather that love not the wind.
(Love's Labour's Lost, IV.ii.11-18)
So I suppose that Holofernes and Nathaniel were just being pretentious and snooty in respect to the more worldly Dull here, but Nathaniel's little rhyme reminded me of last night's class. Going through the sum of my learning and reflections over the last 5 semesters in the ITS program made me realize how fructified I have been. I like to think that I'm no more a computer geek than I have been before this program started, and I never will be. But it seems like (esp. this semester) I've had a window into the world of educational technology that will close after July. This cohort has offered so much insight to me mostly because I've been immersed in the culture of learning with new technologies. How do I keep up with that once Bill and all the ITRT's have departed from my weekly routine? I wonder if I have the initiative to keep up with it. It's like when I got up this morning and scrolled past MTV2 on the tube (in this world of HDTV and plasma, they don't even call it "the tube" anymore, do they?). So many unfamiliar bands and rappers and styles. I used to be a college DJ, on the cutting edge, and now I'm clueless. Scary.
It's a quandary, I'm sure. And I'm also sure that whoever began reading this has stopped by now, so let's get to the point. The other day, I came across this site, http://misterteacher.blogspot.com/ by James Tubbs, a 5th grade teacher in Wyoming, Ohio. This dude is sharp when it comes to instructional technology. I'm pretty sure. His work reminds me of Will Richardson. And I like him because he advocates student writing in Mathematics! He's fun to read, as well. Just check out his student blogs page, with actual samples from his own class. I can't believe he has fifth graders doing this stuff. So cool. It's inspired my leadership group's effort to create an initiative to incorporate blogging across curricula, especially in mathematics and science. Speaking of which, I'd better get back to writing the proposal.
Oh, if you have an idea how I can keep that window open, and keep out that monster Ignorance, I'd appreciate your comments!
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2 comments:
Joe - I think you tapped into something when you wrote "I used to be a college DJ, on the cutting edge, and now I'm clueless. Scary." As I have aged, I find myself saying it is "scary."
You can keep the window open by taking the lead with technology and English at Spotsy. Personally, I think that you would be a great ITRT. Now that you have this degree, you might as well do something with it.
Joe it is a pleasure reading your posts. I would love to work with you on your initative. I think with a new principal, we have opportunities for shaking things up. I am moving into the newspaper role next year and the 10th grade. I look forward to working with you.
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