By now I'm sure that most of you have heard about the events which occurred yesterday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. I'm sure that like most of us, your minds are racing with all kinds of questions on a variety of social, political, religious, and possibly even economic topics which are related to the events of yesterday. Having such questions, having emotional reactions, are natural and you should not be discouraged from having them.
My purpose in writing to you today is to let each and everyone of you know that I love you. I value each of you as a special gift that God gave to this world and that has been entrusted into my educational care for a brief period of your life. I may not always be happy with your performance in class, your less than stellar behavior, or the fact that you sometimes don't realize your own potential for life. However, I will always love you. Even if I get aggravated at times, I will always love you and I pray daily for you to obtain the best that life has to offer.
While you are under my care and watchful eye, this love for you compels me to unquestionablly seek your protection from harm. I will do my best to make sure that while you are in school, especially within my classroom, that you are safe. And if need be, I would even put myself in harm's way to help save you ... each of you.
So even while you think of yesterday's events, while you see the images, while you express your emotions, know that you will be as safe as I can possibly make you while you are in my care.
Also ... do your homework this weekend <wink>. After all, APHuG has the multiple choice portion of their Unit Three Test (Cultural Geography) and APUSH has the essay portion of their Unit Six Test (Civil War and Reconstruction).
See you Monday!!
Showing posts with label APUSH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label APUSH. Show all posts
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Teaching at Krida
Today was our first full day at Krida Nusantara. After breakfast, without students due to their Ramadan fasting, Daniel and I attended the morning "Roll Call". This is a time for the principal to give special daily announcements to the faculty and to have a morning prayer. The principal introduced us to his faculty and as I greeted them I gave the principal a letter of greeting which had been prepared by Lt. Governor Todd Lamb as well as an Oklahoma flag sent as a gift from my principal, Roy Smith, from Southmoore. We were then off to class time with students.
Betty had arranged for Daniel to teach in English classes and for me to teach in geography classes. Our teaching topic, which was assigned prior to our arrival in Indonesia, was "American Culture". I used both my Oklahoma prezi and postcards from my Southmoore APUSH & APHuG students as a way to engage the students at Krida in discussions about life in the Sooner (and Cowboy) State. There were several points in which we were able to express similarities between Oklahoma and Indonesia: for example, both locations have experienced the impact of terrorism. Finding common ground and similar experiences is one of the great ways to build bridges over those things that separate cultures.
Following the four 70-minute class sessions, Daniel and I retired to the guest house for lunch and a brief rest. In the time we've each been enjoying our summer breaks, our bodies have forgotten how tiring a day of teaching can be...and then add to that the obstacles of cross-cultural and language interaction, the humidity in the non air conditioned classrooms, and the lack of ability to take a drink during class time due to Ramadan. We were both TIRED.
Betty then arranged for a late afternoon to evening adventure in the city. We went to one of the local malls to see the new Batman movie. The next showing was sold out so we walked around the mall until the our show would start. While shopping I'm discovering that it may be very difficult fore to find a Batik shirt that will fit; Indonesians are just not as big as I am, LOL. The tickets for the movie were for specific seats in the theater...Betty did great at picking these out.
Following the movie and en route back to the Krida campus, we stopped for dinner. This was such a great feast of lamb sate and rice; I could get used to skewers of lamb or chicken sate with peanut and soy sauces or dipping.
As noted yesterday, the wifi connection is not strong so I will post pictures as soon as I able.
Betty had arranged for Daniel to teach in English classes and for me to teach in geography classes. Our teaching topic, which was assigned prior to our arrival in Indonesia, was "American Culture". I used both my Oklahoma prezi and postcards from my Southmoore APUSH & APHuG students as a way to engage the students at Krida in discussions about life in the Sooner (and Cowboy) State. There were several points in which we were able to express similarities between Oklahoma and Indonesia: for example, both locations have experienced the impact of terrorism. Finding common ground and similar experiences is one of the great ways to build bridges over those things that separate cultures.
Following the four 70-minute class sessions, Daniel and I retired to the guest house for lunch and a brief rest. In the time we've each been enjoying our summer breaks, our bodies have forgotten how tiring a day of teaching can be...and then add to that the obstacles of cross-cultural and language interaction, the humidity in the non air conditioned classrooms, and the lack of ability to take a drink during class time due to Ramadan. We were both TIRED.
Betty then arranged for a late afternoon to evening adventure in the city. We went to one of the local malls to see the new Batman movie. The next showing was sold out so we walked around the mall until the our show would start. While shopping I'm discovering that it may be very difficult fore to find a Batik shirt that will fit; Indonesians are just not as big as I am, LOL. The tickets for the movie were for specific seats in the theater...Betty did great at picking these out.
Following the movie and en route back to the Krida campus, we stopped for dinner. This was such a great feast of lamb sate and rice; I could get used to skewers of lamb or chicken sate with peanut and soy sauces or dipping.
As noted yesterday, the wifi connection is not strong so I will post pictures as soon as I able.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Donations-a-Plenty
In preparation for my Teacher for Global Classrooms trip to Indonesia, I asked LOTS of people, organizations, businesses, cultural groups, etc., to donate items for me to give out to those whom I meet in Indonesia, especially the students at the schools I will be visiting. Let's just say "I'm blown away!!!"
Here's a sampling of what I am trying to squeeze into a rolling duffel bag and yet not exceed the 50 lbs weight limit...
Here's a sampling of what I am trying to squeeze into a rolling duffel bag and yet not exceed the 50 lbs weight limit...
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| From a variety of school clubs & sports teams at Southmoore High School ~Freshman Class, Junior Class, Senior Class, Student Council, Speech & Debate, National Honor Society, Soccer, Track & Field, SuperCats, Administration, Yearbook, & AP Human Geography~ Donations included t-shirts galore, sweat pants, sunglasses, foam spirit fingers, key chains from our first prom, the 2011-2012 Yearbook, and a 3x5 Oklahoma Flag |
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| From the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum Pencils and "Character" lapel pins |
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| From the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Pencils and bookmarks featuring horses |
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| From the Oklahoma Department of Libraries bookmarks with pictures of Oklahoma's history |
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| From the Oklahoma City RedHawks baseball team baseball hats, t-shirts, pencil bags, blankets, pennate flags, and note pads |
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| From the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team insulated lunch bags, peel-n-stick patches, rulers, pencil bags (with sharpener, pencils, eraser, & ruler), rubber wrist bands, rubber wrist watches, and lapel pins |
In addition to these gifts, I also have 400+ hand written postcards from the students at Briarwood and Oakridge elementary schools and my AP US History and AP Human Geography students.
I am so thankful to each of these organizations for their generosity and I look forward to sharing pictures of the students and other individuals who will become recipients of these wonderful "Oklahoma" treasures.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
CNN...thank you!!
A special "thank you" to CNN for this article that relates what myself and nearly 11,000 high school and higher education colleagues are involved with for the next two weeks. There are 1200 US History educators and 350 Chemistry educators reading exams in Louisville with me and I currently have friends reading in Cincinnati, Ohio and Kansas City, Missouri right now with other subject areas. Next week I have even more friends headed off to Louisville, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City, Utah for their turn.
June 6th Update:
Was able to connect with two AP Chemistry teachers from my school district: Valerie Ferguson from Moore High and Janice Willingham from Westmoore High. Kind of cool that Moore Public Schools had all three high schools represented in Col. Sanders land at the same time. Additionally, I was able to connect with a couple of friends from the OKC area who teach at Edmond Memorial High to watch the Thunder's final game against the San Antonio Spurs. Special thanks to Kevin McDonald, AP English Language, and T.J. Dortch, AP Chemistry...THUNDER UP!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Vault in the Ville
One of the great things about exploring urban areas is finding the wonderful ways in which communities seek ways to revitalize their inner cities and attempt to re-attract suburbanites back into the original core. My home community of Oklahoma City has done this through our MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects) program.
I've been traveling to Louisville, KY, each June for the past six years to help score the essays written for the College Board's AP United States History exam. During this time I've been able to explore some of the wonderful places which "the Ville" has created or redesigned to help draw people back to its downtown core. One such area is called "Fourth Street Live". A section of Fourth Street has been blocked off and all sorts of entertainment opportunities abound. Restaurants, clubs, a bowling alley, etc. Additionally, they have live concerts and other activities right in the middle of the street.
Last night I encountered "Vault in the Ville". A group of competitive pole vaulters were putting on an exhibition of their talents. Check out the video I put together:
Whether in your home community or within a city which you might visit take the time to get out of your suburban comfort zones and roam the remote roads back into the original core or central business district (often called "downtown") and see what excitement you might find.
I've been traveling to Louisville, KY, each June for the past six years to help score the essays written for the College Board's AP United States History exam. During this time I've been able to explore some of the wonderful places which "the Ville" has created or redesigned to help draw people back to its downtown core. One such area is called "Fourth Street Live". A section of Fourth Street has been blocked off and all sorts of entertainment opportunities abound. Restaurants, clubs, a bowling alley, etc. Additionally, they have live concerts and other activities right in the middle of the street.
Last night I encountered "Vault in the Ville". A group of competitive pole vaulters were putting on an exhibition of their talents. Check out the video I put together:
Whether in your home community or within a city which you might visit take the time to get out of your suburban comfort zones and roam the remote roads back into the original core or central business district (often called "downtown") and see what excitement you might find.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Westbrook = Remote Road Roamer
In my AP United States History classes I try to teach my students about "historiography". Simply put, this fancy word describes the efforts of historians to play "connect the dots" with the facts from the past so as to help complete the picture of what "happened." Here's a sample of some of my own recent "historiography":
FACT ONE: On March 8, 2012, I posted an entry on this blog titled "Holi Moli" in which I described a little bit about the Hindu holiday of Holi and how my AP Human Geography class participated in "celebrating" this day. My entry included an image of my "Holi shirt" which we created.
FACT TWO: On May 16, 2012, The Oklahoman (daily paper in central Oklahoma) ran an article describing my upcoming TGC trip to Indonesia. The article, in both the print and online versions, included a link to this very blog.
FACT THREE: On May 16, 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder was involved in playing game two of the NBA playoff series with the Los Angles Lakers. Game two was in Oklahoma City and, thus, the Thunder's team members were in town and would have had easy access to the Wednesday issue (in print or online) of The Oklahoman.
FACT FOUR: On May 19, 2012, following the Thunder's 103-100 defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers in game four of the series, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder arrived at a press conference sporting a splatter paint shirt.
So, the "historiography"? It must be easy to connect the dots of the above facts. Russel Westbrook obviously reads The Oklahoman on a regular basis. During his perusal of the paper on May 16 he must have read the article about my trip and then spent much of the morning reading through this blog. While reading the blog he was dumbstruck with the "Holi Moli" entry and thought "that guy looks great in that shirt". Thus, he went out and purchased a shirt inspired by my look. Westbrook then proceeded to wear his Holi and Burton inspired look during the LA based press conference on May 19. It is such an honor to have Russell Westbrook as a fellow roamer of remote roads!
Don't believe me? Check it out...
FACT ONE: On March 8, 2012, I posted an entry on this blog titled "Holi Moli" in which I described a little bit about the Hindu holiday of Holi and how my AP Human Geography class participated in "celebrating" this day. My entry included an image of my "Holi shirt" which we created.
FACT TWO: On May 16, 2012, The Oklahoman (daily paper in central Oklahoma) ran an article describing my upcoming TGC trip to Indonesia. The article, in both the print and online versions, included a link to this very blog.
FACT THREE: On May 16, 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder was involved in playing game two of the NBA playoff series with the Los Angles Lakers. Game two was in Oklahoma City and, thus, the Thunder's team members were in town and would have had easy access to the Wednesday issue (in print or online) of The Oklahoman.
FACT FOUR: On May 19, 2012, following the Thunder's 103-100 defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers in game four of the series, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder arrived at a press conference sporting a splatter paint shirt.
So, the "historiography"? It must be easy to connect the dots of the above facts. Russel Westbrook obviously reads The Oklahoman on a regular basis. During his perusal of the paper on May 16 he must have read the article about my trip and then spent much of the morning reading through this blog. While reading the blog he was dumbstruck with the "Holi Moli" entry and thought "that guy looks great in that shirt". Thus, he went out and purchased a shirt inspired by my look. Westbrook then proceeded to wear his Holi and Burton inspired look during the LA based press conference on May 19. It is such an honor to have Russell Westbrook as a fellow roamer of remote roads!
Don't believe me? Check it out...
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