Ruminations

I dug up copies of my report cards from those years. here are the teacher comments in their entirety:

first grade, 1950-51.

1. first quarter. james has all the potentialities of a good pupil. however, he must try to be a little neater in his written work. james must also learn to show more respect for his fellow pupils and his teacher. he must practice self-control. james has completed three pre-primers and is now in a primer. his number recognition is excellent. his letter formation is poor.

2. second quarter. james has made a fine improvement in his letter and number formation. his art work is still careless and untidy. james has completed ten pre-primers and is now reading in a primer. he has slipped behind in his reading and we hope that he will strive to be more attentive during his reading period. james has not yet learned the meaning of self-control. for his own benefit and the benefit of his classmates, he must put forth every effort to master it. james must also learn to be prompt after his recess period.

3. third quarter. the additional guidance in reading that james has received is evidenced daily. it is gratifying to see his new attitude for I realized he was letting his ability lie dormant. james has matured a great deal and is a very cooperative member of our class now.

4. fourth quarter. james is reading with the first reading groups. his word recognition has improved. he must work on oral reading — for he is rather slow in it. james does very well with number combinations and is quite able to apply his learning to everyday situations. I hope james will keep up the good attitude towards school he has developed this year.

second grade.

1. first quarter. james is capable but does not begin to work comparable to his ability. he does almost no independent reading and when he is pushed into his written assignments, they are often very carelessly done. consequently he has much time for mischief and spends his time being most disturbing to his class and his teacher. although there has been noted some improvement during the past weeks of school, there is much to be desired in his behavior. I feel he has learned very little since entering this grade as compared with the rest of the group. until he learns obedience, cooperation, and assumes an attitude of responsibility toward his work and his class, there cannot be the proper growth on his part, and he will not become the fine pupil I feel he is capable of being.

2. second quarter. James has shown much growth during the past quarter. he is beginning to feel some responsibility toward his work and the group; his attitude is less that of trying to get attention through misbehaving than that of receiving legitimate recognition through cooperation and for a job well done. however, he continues to show little interest in reading in school; it is only after much prodding that he will settle down even to his required reading. instead he has something to play with in his hands constantly. his written work is being very well done, for which he has been praised quite frequently. with continued interest, effort and cooperation, I feel james is well on hie road toward becoming a responsible and contributing member of our group. I appreciate your cooperation at home.

3. third quarter. james has become much more cooperative in the classroom. he concentrates on his written work; and though recently he has become careless in writing, he does his job quickly and well, seeming to enjoy it. he seems interested in our class discussions, and during our sharing period, has made many interesting contributions. he is very good in his number work. I believe this reading interest is beyond his reading ability. as a result we can find no reading material at school that he will try to read. he does not feel a responsibility for doing much that he does not want to do. he needs to mature and to grow in emotional control before he can become a well-adjusted member of the group.

4. fourth quarter. james’ work continues about the same. he seems to enjoy his written assignments but he still tries to see how fast he can complete them with the result that his writing greatly suffers. his spelling and phonics are quite good and he continues to enjoy his number work. a few times he has attempted reading without pressure, nearly always from a book too difficult for him. this I know is discouraging for him and he rarely ever completes a story. I hope as he matures he will realize he must read on his own level until he masters the mechanics of reading. he is becoming somewhat more cooperative in the classroom and shows more self-control.

third grade.

1. james has shown a great deal of growth in self-control during this quarter. he has a searching mind that will take him far as he learns to apply it to the matters at hand. his work has improved in neatness, though he still has a tendency to do his assignments hurriedly. this is especially evident in his art and craft activities. james has made an excellent room president and is beginning to understand, I think, that he can win the respect and admiration of his classmates with his qualities of leadership and good mind more easily than thru misbehavior.

2. second quarter. I shall be sorry to see james leave. he has displayed a great deal of imagination and effort this quarter. he learns quickly and always has many worthwhile things to contribute to the group. when his interest is captured, he Is an enthusiastic and painstaking worker. his weakness lies in language. the grammatical structure of his sentences is frequently very poor. his spelling and arithmetic, however, have reached an A level, and he reading (sic) with more expression and pleasure. james has been a challenging pupil. if he continues putting forth the effort he has shown his quarter, I’m sure he will become an excellent student.

So, this is my first posting using Blogger for Word, an add-in that was released today. I installed it, opened Word, and found a new toolbar. Then I clicked Blogger Settings to give it my login and password. Finally I clicked “Open Post” and I’m tapping a Blog entry into Word.  

(In the process, I find that Word’s standard dictionary contains neither Blogger nor Blog in its vocabulary.)

One major limitation is that graphics don’t transfer. In a minute, I’ll see if I can add them after the fact.

Let’s close with some type in RED.  And some yellow highlighter.

• Arial.

• Verdana.

• Trebuchet.

• Comic Sans MS

• Bookman Old Style.

I need a new blog format.

Sophisticated look.
Tagging via Technorati or some other categorization method

• Use the Contact Form, or
  

informal learning…

The disk read yesterday has freaked me out about keeping information on this machine. It’s probably time to replace it with something reliable…and quiet.

“The Talmud says, If I am not for myself, who will be? If I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?”

this might be worth checking out http://www.wikispaces.org/

Sunday. On Thursday, I was on the operating table for three hours undergoing a cardial ablation. That’s not what I’m thinking about. Part of the ablation involved boring a hole in a large vein in my groin. I spent Thursday night in the hospital keeping my leg still to help the wound heal itself. Friday evening the bandage began to come unattached. I began to bleed. By morning my underwear looked as it would had someone shot me in the thigh: the righthard side was soaked with blood. Saturday I applied a succession of bandages…and continued to bleed. In the evening I talked with the on-call cardiologist who told me to cut the anticoagulant drugs and apply pressure. This worked until I fell asleep and disturbed the wound; I awoke among bloodstains but soon had things back under control.

Today I am confined to bed. Leg is straight and immobile. Uta brings me food. I flashed on Stephen Hawking. Of course I’ve got a ways to go before I reach his state.

Pieces of the book are starting to fall into place. The ecosystem/bio/complexity metaphor holds up as an alternative model for learning. Adaptation to a rapidly changing, unpredictable world is the WIIFM of both business and individuals. Fit is the metric. Can we breed — in this case, produce?

The flow is:

1. here’s what going on in your ecosystem(s)
2. here are the consequences to your fitness
3. figure out your WIFFM
4. hints on what it takes to live a full life (stories)
5. models to follow…

Learning is like time or matter or space — too big to get one’s arms around. Every capability that’s not genetic has been learned, intentionally or not.

Informal Learning focuses on work-related learning. That includes improving the work and the worker, so personal stuff is in the zone.

Stories are king. Narrratives work. Should I be telling my own story and if so, how much?

I love exploring more than mapping the territory I’ve explored. Now feels like the time to return to camp and document some of my travels.

Certainly, the numbers heading for Golden Pond are staggering. Today, about 1 in 8 Americans is 65 years or older, compared with 1 in 25 at the turn of the century. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be elderly. And senior citizens are around for a lot longer. Life expectancy at birth was 47 years in 1900; in 1993, it reached 76 years. For those reaching age 65, average life expectancy for men is projected to rise from a current 81 years to 85 in 2040; for women, it’s 85 and 88. The fastest-growing segment of the population is the so-called oldest old–those 85 years or more.

Workplace changes are part of the demographic transformation, too. People will be working longer, and older people will contribute more to economic growth. Clearly, the information economy will ease the transition to longer working lives. Working with computers in service-sector occupations such as financial services and medical diagnostics is much less demanding physically than manning an auto assembly line or mining for coal. Says Maria C. Robotham, manager of health care and aging studies at the Futures Group Inc., a consulting firm: “We are also finding more interest in second and third careers. A lot of retired people are returning to start a new career.”

IEEE, 2002
http://www.ieee.org/organizations/eab/tutorials/refguide/mms01.htm

Instructional design is the process through which an educator determines the best teaching methods for specific learners in a specific context, attempting to obtain a specific goal. This reference guide is designed to help you apply sound principles of design to the creation of your courses. The overview presented here is based on the model developed by Walter Dick and Lou Carey, which provides a systematic, step-by-step approach to designing (and then improving) effective and objectives-based instruction. Keep in mind that the content is presented here in a linear manner, but there will always be movement between and among phases. Also, remember that not all of these phases may apply to your situation. Depending on your needs, you may work through this reference guide in a linear manner, using the Back and Next buttons on the left side of the screen, or you can click the phase and section that apply only to your current interests and requirements.

In other words, the student doesn’t find a path to knowledge; he does what the instructor pushes out.