"And in the end, the learning you take is equal to the teaching you make:" The last blog entry of the year

I am currently teaching a core extension class entitled "Musical Misery." The focus of the class is to examine music as artistic works of poetry and engage in a thematic analysis. While it has been great to punctuate my day with discussions of loneliness and heartbreak with some great works of art, I am confident that the greater value of the class has resided in reclaiming my love of The Beatles.
I have always possessed a healthy respect for them. As far as I can remember a love of music, The Beatles had been a part of it. When I was an adolescent (chronologically, not behaviorally, which I am still in, sadly), I was a Paul man and really enjoyed the hard rock aspect of the group. While I might have found my college years one of drifting from the sounds of the Fab 4, I kept them at a healthy distance when I entered into teaching. In discussing ideas such as differentiation, standards based educational reform, federal and state mandates, and authentic assessment, as well as keeping up with ideas such as grading, lesson plans, and syllabi three weeks in advance, I never found a real opportunity to integrate The Beatles into my framework of teaching and learning. I think that my Core Extension on Musical Misery has done just that.
In recognizing how much of the music of The Beatles represents poetic works of art, I have been able to identify a suitable metaphor to describe what has been an amazing year on 7-1. We began the year with so much optimism, so much pure hope, and so much unbridled energy. There were trace fossils, concept attainment lectures that involved teachers yelling, "I'm as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore" out of a window. There were explorations into who we are as thinkers, and deep seeded analyses of the American Revolutions, roses to battle plans and all. There were intense discussions about Constitutionality and a five day final exam. There were forays into teaching and then rapid paced, thoroughbred-like coverage of the growth of a nation. What started as something of excitement turned into maturation and growth, similar to the music of The Beatles, and even the 1960's, as a decade.
And, now we are facing the last and closing tracks of the "Abbey Road" album.
We are going to be closing out the year this week with a study of chapter 14 and 15, and students will be able to choose in which direction they would like to take their last steps of 7-1 Social Studies, and their first steps into 8th grade.
The Beatles' music is a metaphor is not only an effective tool to close out this year, but also to close out a wonderful run of teaching on 7-1. As I make my way in ending one facet of my teaching journey and beginning another one, I take with me the ideas of hope that seemed to line and weave nearly every Beatles song. While I might not be "the teacher I used to be," I know that the one I will always be is one who will know how to "carry that weight." The title of this blog entry, the last one I will write as a 7-1 teacher, speaks eloquently to how I have felt about my teaching, student's learning, and this entire process we call "education."
Grades will be updated as of Monday, and this should be a fairly accurate guide as to how students will have fared in the third trimester. To all of the supportive 7-1 students (former and current) and parents (current and former), please accept my deepest thanks for all of your kind words in allowing me the chance to successfully teach on 7-1. To see these student evolve into the pantheon of scholarship has been a singular honor.
Happy hunting as our journeys will continue,
Mr. Kannan

The Final Turn of the 7-1 Horse Race

There are a handful of items for which I hold a true sense of passion and zeal. Finding a way into my life, my daily practice, and my core values, these entities have withstood my temperaments and states (sometimes altered) of reality. It would not surprise many to see teaching rank high on such a list (a homage to the recently completed and submitted Top 10 Lists for Chapter 12). I suppose that ideas and "L"iterature would also take their rightful places on such a mythic arrangement. Clint Eastwood films and their mythology, as well as John Coltrane music, and, of course, the themes behind "The Matrix" would be present on this collection of "my favorite things."
Horse racing would also occupy a prominent slot on such a playlist of identity. One of the "rites of spring" for me is the elusive pursuit of racing's Triple Crown. From the first Saturday in May, amidst the mint juleps and the twin spires of Churchill Downs to the Black Eyed Susans and the wistful melody of "Maryland, My Maryland" to the day in June when New York becomes the center of the universe, I mean, the horse racing universe, I am enthusiastic about horse racing. The history of thoroughbred competition has also been a topic of fascination. From the majestic and dominance of Secretariat, to the Kenyon College tinged narrative of Seabiscuit, from the fabled lore of Man-O- War, to the great battles between Affirmed and Alydar, to the tantalizingly close accomplishment of Real Quiet, to the pain of Eight Belles and Barbaro, I have a deep affinity for horseracing. I think that I am able to draw upon the horseracing dialectic to see deep running paralells to my own life and practice.
I had been paying attention to Rachel Alexandra. Her performance two weeks ago at the Oaks was stellar, almost Secretariat- like. I loved the call: "What is it? About 20 lengths?!?" I was aware of the drama between jockey and owner, and how some form of showdown with history emerged: The first filly in over half a century trying to win the Preakness, the first horse to try to win it from the outside post, the horse that stood in between Mine That Bird and his phenomenal finish in the Derby. I knew it all. Yet, I also knew that she was special, and this was confirmed in the first ten seconds of the race, when she took the lead and never relinquished her dominant performance to anyone. She was tremendous and I believe that she is very special.
Rachel Alexandra's performance on Saturday reminded me of some of our 7-1 emerging scholars. They entered this year and, in particular, in this classroom, with a great deal of weight on their shoulders. They entered with their own sense of "a showdown with history"... literally! The time they have spent with me has been one immense conflict, and one that is reaching its final turn. Many of our students have run, like Rachel Alexandra, with dominance and strength, but as jockey Calvin Borel noted, "The more I asked of her, the more she struggled." Indeed, I can relate in terms of teaching our emerging students, your children: The more I have asked of them, the more they have struggled, but the sweeter the triumph that has emerged.
Now, we are in the final turn. Students are either fighting through the pursuit of 75 outcome sentences or a DBQ on the Mexican- American war. I do hope that students can continue to keep fighting through, and like Rachel Alexandra, close out their races of dominance with a victory.

Here they come around the final turn... We await the outcome!
All best and happy running,
Mr. Kannan

The Sprint Towards the End

This will be a truncated entry. The primary reason for this is that there is a mad dash hitting 7-1 Social Studies students over the next ten days. It is hard to believe that our journey that has been filled with intensity and focus will be reaching its natural end, but the final point is in sight. This will translate to students hitting their strides as they head around the last turn with nothing but might.
This is the basic breakdown of how things will run over the next two weeks:
* Tuesday, May 12- All Chapter 12 Work Due.
* Wednesday, May 20th- All Chapter 13 Work Due.
* Thursday, May 21- All DBQ Revisions Due.

Students will be working throughout the next two weeks on the completion of chapter 12 (The Age of Reform) and chapter 13 (Westward Expansion). In addition to this, students will have several opportunities to earn "additional credit":
* Moodle Rewards for the next two weeks.
* Four Points of Additional Credit for any student who brings in a box of Kleenex or Hand Sanitizer over the next two weeks. (Limit 12 points per student).

Naturally, students will be working with a level of focus and intensity that might be reflective of what has been given throughout the year, but I suspect a heightened sense of activity as we approach "the fierce urgency of now."

As students work towards the end of our journey, I avail myself to all students and parents/ guardians. Please do not hesitate to contact me at school or at my home.
Best wishes as our students "come around the turn."
Mr. Kannan

Moodle and a new dimension to complexity

I had been dabbling in it for quite some time. As excited as I was about it, I was not very certain of how to incorporate it into our unit on growth in America. I felt that they were already enduring enough, so to add another burden on their weary, but broad shoulders would have been too much. For some reason, I had just decided to not take them to the computer lab. I figured I would bring it out in class and pick a student to demonstrate how it would work and allow the proverbial chips to fall where they would. What would happen is what would happen. It is what it is.

I picked an unassuming but highly perceptive student in first period. She gladly and willingly decided to dance to my syncopated and “jazz” tune and obliged me.

She started something that became a new aspect of our journey.

We broke through this week with Moodle and the initial burst of excitement was fairly impressive. Students took up conversations and engaged in discussions with their colleagues in an online learning environment. I monitored all the posts and the fervor with which they were posted. There were discussions, questions, opposing viewpoints, collaborative ventures, and very real signs of scholarship emerging. I found myself talking to students in a much more open and intellectual manner about ideas that would normally be limited in a traditional classroom discussion. Students engaged in discourse about economic reality, material exploitation, the issues of social control, and what defines what we know and how we know it. I was enchanted to see students, normally silent in class, open up in an empowering and strong forum. I was delighted to participate with students, and then also, take a seat back to students talking with one another. People studying for the exam were asking one another whether there was a fundamental difference between Northern control of factories and Southern control of plantations. People writing DBQ’s were asking one another which primary source was best for their thesis and engaged one another in testing out the validity of their ideas. Students were encouraging one another to “think” and “look beyond” what was there. I was impressed with how students integrated other people’s point of view as complementing their own or even diverging from their own. Students were taking advantage of down time on team and off team to ask “Can I Moodle from here?” How interesting is it when students appropriate an static noun and transform it into an eclectic verb?

I am not naïve to pretend that this will continue to be the state of affairs on 7-1 Social Studies. (I might have been yesterday, but it was at a rather early hour.) Students were enticed to post their comments on moodle with a “reward” that could have been cashed at the conclusion of this week. Another reward has been offered this week for the same. In a trimester that is rapidly ending, and as we enter our last two chapters of graded work, these rewards can be vital. I think that the more students who can display the savvy of posting online comments and engaging in discussions about the content outside of the classroom setting enhances comprehension of it. In addition to this, I believe that frequent and consistent participation in Moodle will allow students to possess an online savvy that will make them more competitive in their future classes or “cyberendeavors.” My hope is that all parents/ guardians will transform the language of their children and ask them, “Hey, did you moodle today?” At last count, we had over 70 7-1 students logged into accounts and participating. By the end of chapter 13, I hope we can generate more students so that every 7-1 student is a member of this online learning community, where we are able to move from the classroom into another pantheon of scholarship.

As we enter the first full week of May, parents/ guardians know that the summer breezes can be felt. I think that gearing our conversation towards success despite its inevitable end is of vital importance. Students should know that progress reports in Social Studies will be sent home this week. Option one people will receive a report on Monday, while Option two people will receive a report as their DBQ #1 is graded (This writing task is due on Monday.) The next graded task is going to be assigned Monday and is due on Tuesday, May 12. This will be another 350 points. I hope that students rise to this challenge. All stakeholders are reminded to remain in contact with all students/ teachers regarding their child’s academic performance.

On a final note, please know that I think it would be wonderful if some of you, our parents/ guardians, would look at some of the discussion threads from the Moodle Site. As your child logs in and surveys the intellectual field to graze, join them. I mean, what speaks to parent/ child bond better than talking about if the drive of money controls them or if they control it? What more in a relationship could one ask for if they can talk about what does rights in America actually mean? Hallmark does not make a card for such moments, so come on down and join us in the world of Moodle, a domain that has shown a complex journey to possess even more intricacy.

Happy Moodlin’ and happy hunting!

Mr. Kannan