MSM 620: “Oh the Times! Oh the Morale!”
Summary:
Shawn and Troy talk about places, wellness, middle school development, and more. Dave shows us Thinking. Due to technical issues, a short summary podcast is posted. We’ll get things fixed for next week.
Jokes:
Ever wondered why skeletons are so calm?
Prolly because nothing gets under their skin.
Someone broke into my house last night and stole my limbo trophy. How low can you go?
Q: What’s the difference between a duck and an elephant?
A: You can’t get down off an elephant.
for Godzilla, every city is walkable
I just found out my mum is the tooth fairy and I’m devastated.
- I can’t believe she is leaving me home alone every night.
Bob mailed his hearing aid off for repair 3 weeks ago.
- He hasn’t heard anything since.
I have been told that I have a rare genetic disease that forces me to deny the existence of 80s bands.
- The Cure does not exist
Quarter-sized hail? Psssh.
- Let me know when we’re expecting full-sized hail!
I wear a stethoscope so that in a medical emergency I can teach people a valuable lesson about assumptions.
They said a mask and gloves would be enough when going to the store.
- They lied, everyone else had clothes on.
This St, That St, and The Other Street in Nova Scotia.
This Way Lane meets That Way Lane in Oregon:
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Making Thinking Visible
I was recently reading the January/February 2024 issue of “The Science Teacher,” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.
In this issue, I read the “Editor’s Corner” written by Ann Haley MacKenzie. She wrote an article entitled, “How Can We Make Our Students’ Thinking Visible?”
In the article she shared three strategies for making thinking visible. The strategies were taken from the books, “Making Thinking Visible” and “The Power of Making Thinking Visible.”
The strategies are:
- “See-Think-Wonder”
- “Connect-Extend-Challenge”
- “CSI: Color, Symbol, Image”
http://k12science.net/making-thinking-visible/
From the book: “Science Abridged Beyond the Point of Usefulness”
The Social Web
Teaching. K12 v higher ed, pers 1 SHOW LESS
It’s been fun adjuncting, but I kind of like my high school students more and for a few reasons
1 high school kids aren’t focused on learning to get a job, so they’re more willing to try goofy things
2 everything is new for high school students so there’s a consistent level of shock and surprise (every class I ask kids if they want to learn a fun fact n just tell them horrible things)
3 ability to roast and be witty is part of the job
4 the other day one of my kids was talking about how they think it’s good to feel uncomfortable n they want uncensored history classes
I do enjoy the higher level discussions I can have with college students but the approach to my class as something to take to get a job is just depressing as someone who loves my field
I see more love for learning in kids, for better or worse
Kids these days. Dropping mechanical pencils on the ground. These were GOLD when I was a kid. I’d do anything not to lose them.
Dr. Joanne Freeman (@jbf1755 on lots o’ platforms) @jbf1755
GASP I am so pathetically happy about this.
Quote: Alex DeMarco (Dvesatya) @Alex_J_DeMarco
The new edition of the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS 18) comes out this September. And I just heard: PLACE OF PUBLICATION WILL NO LONGER BE REQUIRED IN CITATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRIES!
Eating “raw” Top Ramen with the seasoning sprinkled on it seems to be the popular snack in our #MiddleSchool This is a clear indicator that society is in a decline, no?
Word of the day is ‘fling-brand’ (17th century): one who takes pleasure in breeding dissent and argument, purely for the sake of it.
Melissa & Lori Love Literacy podcast @literacypodcast
7 Days til National Schwa Day! How will you celebrate? Download your Free Teacher Toolkit at http://NationalSchwaDay.org.
Resources:
RIGHT FEELINGS, RIGHT TIME: LISA DAMOUR SPEAKS OUT ON RESILIENCY AMONG TEENS IN HER LATEST BOOK, THE EMOTIONAL LIVES OF TEENAGERS
…growing up in the 1980s, teenage angst was a collective character trait. Popular songs like “Don’t You (Forget about Me)” by Simple Minds or “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash channeled our moodiness and insecurities. Movies like Footloose and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off explored teenagers’ rebellious instincts while their parents were off-screen and out of the loop. Growing up is hard, the entertainment industry told us, and our experiences confirmed that.
In 2023, kids are being schooled by the wellness industry, which now represents a larger segment of the global economy than the entertainment industry.
…clinical psychologist Lisa Damour argues that the wellness industry has contributed to a new cultural norm that simply isn’t sound or even useful: it has equated feeling good with mental health.
Under the influence of the wellness industry, educators have incorporated meditation, yoga, and gratitude journals into their curricula to support the wellbeing of their students, many of whom say they are anxious or depressed. Damour acknowledges that many mindfulness practices are valuable, but she cautions against thinking that they can lead to happiness or prevent negative feelings.
…we should expand students’ sense of all it means to be fully human, in which the questions and uncertainties matter as much as the answers.
…investing in self-care—and the accompanying goods and services—kids believe that they can prevent anxiety and emotional distress. But losing a big game, doing poorly on a test, or getting dumped are not only distressing, they are also fairly common experiences among adolescents. Damour fears that “the wellness movement has left parents and their teens unduly frightened of garden variety adversity” and therefore unable to appreciate how much we grow through failure and hardship.
…context is everything, that mental health means “having the right feelings at the right time.” If a teen fails a math test, they should feel disappointment. If they score a winning goal, they should feel a sense of pride. Healthy people experience the full range of human emotions and can identify and name them.
…explains how the teenage brain amplifies emotions; strong emotions “are a feature, not a bug” in their neurological wiring. During adolescence, the emotion centers of the brain strengthen and predominate the portions of the brain that help maintain a measured perspective. This “emotional intensity actually peaks around age thirteen or fourteen” and begins to subside after that.
https://intrepidednews.com/the-emotional-lives-of-teenagers
AXIS The Culture Translator
Absent Minded
What it is: Data from the American Enterprise Institute found that during the 2022-2023 school year, 26% of students met the definition of “chronically absent,” meaning they missed ten percent or more of the school year.
Continue the conversation: Does attending school or other learning events in person feel less important than it used to feel?
Stop scrolling so much. Try these rituals instead.
https://mashable.com/article/reduce-screen-time-rituals
Meet Palmsy, the fake social network where your posts stay on your device forever
Web Spotlight:
Introducing the Teacher Morale Index
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/introducing-the-teacher-morale-index/2024/03
Random Thoughts . . .
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