Myself in Reverie

"Well I find myself in reverie
'Bout what we might have had
And what might have been...."

--The Alarm. "Spirit of 76"

The End and the Beginning

Next year I’ll begin my 20th year of teaching and like I do at the end of each year, I’m taking stock of what went well and what I’d like to change. It’s become obvious to me that with new state standards, new testing and most importantly…new types of students…that I’m going to have to radically switch up how I’m teaching 8th grade US History next year.

I’m starting this blog to document how I implement some new things next year. My goals include:

Trying Flipped Instruction
Using more primary sources
Implementing some of the ideas Bruce Lesh put forward in “Why Don’t You Tell Us the Answer”
Less busy paperwork for me
Getting the iPad initiative off the ground at my campus

Tumblr has allowed me to explore some amazing options and ideas and I look forward to being part of the community.

What are goals are you setting for next year?

Posted 1 month ago

Tulsa, 2010

Posted 2 months ago

trenchcoat-perdition:

CELEBRITIES I WILL FOREVER LOVE → William Hader

“The biggest advice people ask me: “What do I do?” I just say make stuff. Do stuff. As much as you possibly can. All my friends who are successful, that’s the thing we all have in common. We’re always making stuff. And you have to fail, too, and ask yourself, “Where did I screw up?”

(via myintimate)

Posted 3 months ago

cartoonpolitics:

oooh those evil teachers … they make me so mad !!

(via stfuconservatives)

Posted 3 months ago

Education is not the same as selling lemonade and rose water at a jumble sale. Perhaps you noticed? The product of our labour isn’t easily numbered, weighed or measured. How we do it isn’t amenable to regimentation or standarisation. The effects of our efforts sometimes aren’t seen until decades later.

The Love of Money: How schools became Markets, and everyone lost.

http://behaviourguru.blogspot.com/2012/02/love-of-money-how-schools-became.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBehaviourGuru+%28The+Behaviour+Guru%29

(via englishteacheronline)

Posted 3 months ago

This Blog…

Just wanted to post a note that I’m going to start treating this blog as more a personal blog/ collection of things that I like.

If you are looking for my John Mayer stuff, including my photos, please follow me over at http://mayermatters.tumblr.com

I sometimes accidentally cross post things, but I think I’ve finally got a system figured out.

Thanks!

In case you’re wondering what will be on this blog…

I’m a reader
I’m a traveller
I’m a teacher
I’m a liberal
I’m a music lover
I watch a lot of televsion

Those parts of my identity will be reflected here :)

Posted 3 months ago

mayermatters:

In honor of Mayer Monday and the fact that “Shadow Days” drops to radio today. Can’t wait!

Putting this on my other blog : )

Posted 3 months ago

Lots of Good Info in This Mayer Press Release

NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician John Mayer launches his first U.S. tour in two years on April 9, stopping in 18 cities through May 6. The tour leads into Mayer’s upcoming fifth album Born and Raised, which will be released soon thereafter.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120227/NY59846 )

Mayer produced Born and Raised with Don Was, who worked on albums for acts such as the Rolling Stones, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt. Rock legends David Crosby and Graham Nash provide vocals on the title song and musicians joining Mayer on the album and on the road include highly-regarded keyboardist/pianist Chuck Leavell—who has worked with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and The Allman Brothers Band—as well as previous collaborators Sean Hurley on bass and Aaron Sterling on drums. Rounding out the touring band are David Ryan Harris on guitar and vocals, Doug Pettibone on guitar and Michito Sanchez on percussion.

Mayer recently previewed the album’s first single “Shadow Days” on his tumblr blog (http://jhnmyr.tumblr.com/). The song will be serviced to radio today. He debuts his new album with a performance at SXSW on March 17.

Mayer became passionate about supporting U.S. war veterans following a visit to the Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune in North Carolina four years ago. He has since spent time with active military and veterans while touring, and partnered with the Northern California Institute of Research and Education (NCIRE) to provide veterans with a healthy reintegration into civilian life which will help heal the battle scars caused by the trauma they experienced.

Concertgoers can join Mayer in his support of veterans in two ways. A block of third-row orchestra seats will be made available for sale at a premium price exclusively through Tickets-For-Charity, with proceeds going to Mayer/NCIRE programs. At Tickets-For-Charity, fans pay the same or better price found elsewhere for high-demand seats, with 100% of above-face benefit redirected to charity. For more information, go to www.ticketsforcharity.com/johnmayer.

And at http://celebrity.ebay.com/john-mayer, Mayer fans can bid on four front-row tickets, plus a chance to meet him, with proceeds also going to Mayer/NCIRE programs for veterans.

In 2011, through his partnership with NCIRE, Mayer was able to launch the first of several pilot programs to benefit the young men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Programs include a mobile exercise and wellness program; the development of a program of integrative medicine for traumatic stress; a study on veterans’ readjustment to civilian life which aims to develop new therapeutic tools to aid the transition; and a first-of-its-kind screening and intervention program for women suffering from eating disorders triggered by post traumatic stress related to combat.

Mayer’s previous albums—Room for Squares, Heavier Things, Continuum and Battle Studies—have sold more than 11 million copies combined. He has been honored with seven Grammy Awards and an additional 11 nominations. He has also been included in Time Magazine’s annual Time 100 list of the most influential contemporary thinkers, leaders, artists and entertainers, and twice been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine’s annual “Guitar” issue.

John Mayer Spring Tour 2012 Schedule:

Monday, April 9: Bloomington, IN; the IU Auditorium
Tuesday, April 10: East Lansing, MI; the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
Thursday, April 12: Grand Rapids, MI; DeVos Performance Hall
Friday, April 13: West Lafayette, IN (Purdue University); Elliot Hall of Music
Saturday, April 14: Detroit, MI; Fox Theatre
Tuesday, April 17: Orono, ME (University of ME); Collins Center for the Arts
Wednesday, April 18: Providence, RI; PPAC Providence Performing Arts Center
Thursday, April 19: West Point, NY; Eisenhower Hall Theatre
Saturday, April 21: Buffalo, NY; Shea’s Performing Arts Center
Sunday, April 22: Wallingford, CT; The Oakdale Theatre
Tuesday, April 24: Richmond, VA; Landmark Theater
Thursday, April 26: Tuscaloosa, AL; Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
Sunday, April 29: New Orleans, LA; Jazz & Heritage Fest
Monday, April 30: Memphis, TN; The Orpheum Theatre
Wednesday, May 2: Kansas City, MO; Starlight Theatre
Friday, May 4: Albuquerque, NM; Sandia
Saturday, May 5: Las Vegas, NV; The Joint
Sunday, May 6: Phoenix, AZ; Comerica Theatre