Telegram 1 from the Classroom

Have made contact with the school. [Stop]

There are seventeen fourth graders. [Stop]

They are energetic and talkative, but willing to learn. [Stop]

The students greatly enjoyed the pumpkin game. [Stop]

The teacher seems nice. [Stop]

I think I'll enjoy working with the students. [Stop]

Will update again in the future. [Stop]

Ruminations on Why We Teach Civics

We must always ask ourselves why we teach what we teach. Does it have value? Civics certainly does. We live in the United States of America. It is a democratic republic and thus relies on its citizens being well educated and for them to make good decisions (I will withhold commentary on the current election). This education of our citizens and their civic duty must start early. It may make me sound like a corny PSA from the 1950s, but it's true. Without civics we can not have a democratic society.

Jigsaw

Today in class we did a jigsaw activity. That is where you group up into two groups and then break off join someone from the other group who shares your top Then you work together to create a presentation. Then everyone returns to their original groups to present the topic. That way everyone learns about it.

I enjoy jigsaws generally. They can be fun and are an easy way to impart information quickly to a large group without using whole group instruction. I think i will use them in my teaching.

Changing Standards

I recently did a presentation on the history of the Mohawk nation. My classmates did presentation on other Native American tribes. Back when I went to school we learned only about the Iroquois (like the Mohawks), because New York. It is nice to see other Native Americans are taught as well now. Sometimes standards change for the better.

Introduction

Social studies has always been my favorite subject, even in elementary school when it wasn't my best (I chalk that up to the written components.) My older brother had always been a history bluff, and so I just absorbed all he told me. So it was that I loved to learn about history. In high school at one point I even knew all the federal departments that had cabinet positions. Not because I had to, mind, but because I wanted to.