"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

They came, they saw, and hopefully, they were not conquered!

The start of class on Thursday was priceless. They entered class to an arrangement of desks that were in a semi circle. The desks themselves looked the same, but the configuration was something that was new to the students. They examined the set up and took their seats, but they did so with a sense of understanding one truth that seemed to hit many of them simultaneously:

Things are different now.

We started the unit on Growth in America. Students took their seats and declared their choices. In making their choice to option one or option two, students began to understand that they were bound by their choices. This allowed them to begin the process of harnessing their energies in working towards one goal: Understanding how America “grew up” in this time period.

In thinking globally about it, much of this unit resonates with our students. This journey of scholarship has caused many of them to “grow up” so that it would make sense that students would sense parallel experiences in how America has grown up, also. Contained within this unit is a story of growth, pain, discomfort, triumph tempered with a sense of unknown, as well as the notion that all answers are met with more questions. One mountain scaled is met by another mountain in wait. While this would be a good way to describe America at the outset of the Civil War, I would also think that such a classification could encompass many, if not all, of the students on 7-1 and their voyage into American History. There is much in this unit to speak to our students.

Long term growth can only be accomplished with small term advancements. Bearing this in mind, all students should focus on the comprehension of the items presented in chapter 11. Option 1 students will have their note taking guides and Check Your Progress Questions due on Thursday with their Chapter 11 Exam on Friday. Option 2 students have their first DBQ due on Monday, 5/4. Their focus should be on completing the reading in chapter 11 and complete engagement in the process of drafting as often as possible.

We eagerly anticipate how students will meet yet another challenge, another mountain to be climbed.

Happy Hunting!
Mr. Kannan

The Choice Awaiting All 7-1 Emerging Scholars

With the completion of the teaching assignments, students will have to make a choice this week. Our upcoming unit on Growth in America that centers chapters 11- 13 will force students to have to decide the method in which they wish to address it. One method is based out of the textbook while the other is based out of primary sources. In the attempt to provide full disclosure and attempt to illuminate the choices of our students, I shall use this week’s blog entry to clarify. Much of this decision will be based on the central question that has to be put to all students: What do you love? Both methods of covering the unit will compel students to deliver high quality work in both process and product. However, the question of what students want lies firmly embedded in the rock of love. That is to say, does a particular student love history? If a student cannot commit to the love of history, perhaps the complementary question should be, does a particular student love their grade? The posing of such questions should prompt a strong discussion, within which the answer lies.

Option one is rooted in textbook analysis. Students will be assigned a chapter a week, and will be asked to identify critical points in each section through a reciprocal reading format. They will be responsible for completing the Check Your Progress Questions that are present at the end of each section. The method of assessing each particular section will vary from a standard exam, to the composition of a “Top 10 List,” and Outcome Sentences. The mode of instruction will range from student collaboration to direct instruction via lecture and will happen only about twice a week. Yet, the challenge here is being able to pace oneself in their work while addressing elevated topics from the textbook. Due to this level of inherent challenge, the methods of assessment and form of instruction have been designed to integrate such difficulty. This translates to students being highly responsible for completing work on their own recognizance within class and outside of it. If students are comfortable with the direct approach of the textbook and prefer a pattern of consistency in the work expectations, then this approach might be quite seductive. This is because the student has the textbook as their primary guide and, after a year of its company, there might be a certain comfort in continuing this trend. There is little risk featured in this option. Students are responsible for budgeting their time appropriately on their own and ensuring that they can meet articulated deadlines. In addition to this, students will be able to sustain their grade through voyaging through fairly familiar terrain, albeit with new content. For the student who seeks a secure method to covering the material and ensuring a certain level of control combined with a minimal risk approach towards grade maintenance, this option might prove quite enticing.

Option two possesses more risk but can deliver more of an upside for students who seek a future in history. Students who undertake this option will be responsible for reading the material, but then engage in composing an essay through a Document Based Question format, or DBQ. The DBQ is the basis for all historical based scholarship. Whether in 8th grade or in high school, the DBQ and a student’s ability to compose one effectively compose one will help differentiate talented students from scholars in history. One of the defining characteristics in Honors or Advanced History classes is based on a student’s writing ability, and in particular, writing DBQ’s. This option is a challenge, a risk, because students will use the textbook as a pure secondary source, and rely on their composition of each chapter DBQ from a set of Primary Sources of that time period. Students will have to considerably more reading and writing in this particular task, as they are reading both textbook and multiple primary sources and composing a DBQ essay for each chapter. The students who love history or possess a sense of love regarding scholarship should undertake this option. Add to this recipe of challenge that the student who undertakes this option must budget their time in order to read two sets of readings (Textbook secondary and Primary Source) and draft, perhaps multiple times, a DBQ essay, and one senses how different this option is from the first one. Students who select this option are doing so because their future in history or scholarship drives them past where others might see.

Both options are going to be difficult. Extra credit in Social Studies has disappeared, and as we enter our last phase of our journey of scholarship, this moment in our shared time will be the most arduous. This unit sets the stage for our final unit on The Civil War. The problem, our students might see, is one of choice, but it is also the source of great notions of liberation and personal responsibility.

We all await the choices of our students, our emerging scholars.

Mr. Kannan

What Lies Ahead After the Teaching Assignment

For this week’s blog, I have decided to print a copy of the letter that students will receive once the chapter 9 Teaching Assignments have reached their inevitable conclusion. Timelines for completion will be given to students at the time of receipt of this letter. I hope this letter will start the process of dialogue between parents and students to ensure that choice voiced is choice respected.

April _______, 2009

Dear Parents/ Guardians:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of our upcoming unit on Growth in America. The focus of this unit is to analyze the development of Modern America from economic and social points of view. Some of the concepts addressed will be industrialization, immigration, social awareness, differing approaches to economic growth, Westward Expansion, as well as the growing divide between North and South with regards to the institution of slavery. The chapters covered in our textbook will be 11, 12, and 13. As with so much this year, change is a compelling concept. In past years, I have engaged in a series of direct instruction lectures designed to accomplish the comprehension of content in these chapters. However, this year I am proposing a different way to grasp the essential concepts that arise from these chapters. This differentiation will rest on the broad shoulders of our students who will choose which option best fits their particular talent sets.
There are two options for this course of study and students will have to choose one. These options are presented in more detail at the bottom of this document. One option is a textbook based, secondary source analysis, while the other is an American History primary source analysis. Intrinsic to both options is the reading and absorption of all sections in chapters 11, 12, and 13. There will be individualized tasks within each choice. The point values will be the same for all students, but the specific tasks will be different. For example, a student who chooses the textbook based secondary source analysis will have a different set of tasks to complete than the American History primary source student. Direct instruction will be conducted by groupings, so not all students will receive directed instruction each day. On the days when students are not engaged in direct instruction, they will have class time to work on their specific task at home. Underscoring this is that students will have to make efficient use of their time outside of class. Students will be asked to make a commitment to their choice on _____________________.
I have outlined the two choices to all students. The choice is going to be left to them. I encourage you, as parents/ guardians, to discuss which option is best suited for your particular student, your emerging scholar. While the problem here could be the choice, it could also be the source of liberation, as students can strive to find their academic voices through an appropriate choice. I stress to all students that their choices are for them, and them alone, and they should choose what they think is best for them. These tasks will be done individually, so collaboration with colleagues will not be an option for this unit. As with all choices, it is my hope that students make the right choice, for the right reasons.
The last point I would like to make here is one based on the notion of differentiation. Over the year, I believe that I have taken special strides to differentiate the content in American History in order to reach every student. However, I have always claimed that a large component of differentiation of content is contingent on student choice. When students choose to find their academic voice, choose to inject their passion and zeal into their work, and choose to display their heart within the paradigm of intellectual discourse, differentiation has been accomplished as content has gained more purpose. In this particular unit, groupings have been offered and within each designation, further differentiation is even more evident. Yet, students will have to choose which task is best suited for them. Every student will be granted equal access to all options. All students are entitled to a pasture within which their intellectual sojourn can take place.
If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at school or at home (__________________________). In the final analysis, as we begin our mad dash towards the end of the year and the Final Assessment, it is the choices of our students, your emerging scholars, that will be able to demonstrate the best chance of success.

Thanking you in advance,
Mr. Kannan
P.S. Students will receive the calendar of events, a sequence that lists due dates of all specific assignments, once choices have been declared. Our journey begins with all students reading chapter 11, so if students wish to move at their own pace, they could begin here. In the words of the great coach, “Is this fun or what?!?”

Unit: Growth in America
Chapter 11- North and South Take Different Forms
Chapter 12- The Age of Reform
Chapter 13- Westward Expansion


Two Options:
1) Textbook Based Secondary Source Analysis
2) American History Primary Source Analysis

Requirements:
* All students will have to read all the sections from the texts and compose notes on said reading.
* Direct instruction will transpire each day with different groups. Grouping calendar will be distributed. Different deadlines for different groups, and each group will be responsible for meeting their specific deadlines.
* Each grouping will have to complete different tasks on chosen items.
Description of groupings:

1) Textbook Based Secondary Source Analysis
In this grouping, students will have to do the following:
• Read each section of each chapter
• Take notes on each section (to be submitted at the end of each unit)
• Complete the Check Your Progress Questions from each section (to be submitted at the end of each unit)
In addition to this, as each chapter is concluded a unique assessment will accompany completion:
Chapter 11- Multiple choice exam
Chapter 12- Top 10 List for Age of Reform
Chapter 13- Outcome Sentence Assessment on Westward Expansion

This is a very straight forward and direct method of analysis on chapters 11, 12, 13. For those who can follow the direction of the textbook and ideas presented, this will be a good option. The end of the chapter assessments will challenge students in understanding how to synthesize what is understood in the text which application in different arenas.



2) American History Primary Source Analysis
In this grouping, students will have to do the following:
• Read each section of each chapter
• Complete one set of Check Your Progress Questions from each chapter (to be submitted at the end of each unit)
• Read the Primary Source Documents on each topic
• Complete the questions for each Primary Source Document
In addition to this, as each chapter is concluded, students will be asked to compose an essay on a Document Based Question (DBQ) from each chapter. Document Based Questions, or DBQ’s, assess the ability of each student work’s comprehension of historical sources in multiple forms. These are writing prompts/ essays which ask students to analyze meaning, point of view/ biases, and historical evidence as students develop and support a thesis. (Taken from www.edteck.com/dbq/testing/dbq.htm)
This is a very strong option for the student who enjoys examining history in “real time.” The student who likes to make connections between history in the textbook with real life narratives would enjoy this option. The writing of the DBQ would be challenging and serve to provide the basis of “how to write in history.”



I do hope this starts the dialogue. The wordle above is composed of my narrative comments of teaching assignments delivered to classes thus far. My hope is that students can find their own assessments or their colleagues’. Best wishes for the chapter 9 exam on Friday.

All best and happy hunting and choosing.
Mr. Kannan