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A Year Ago … A Messy Thanksgiving

This was such a great experience last year! My students were talking about it yesterday and today. So I re-post here today as a celebration of our experience, AND of Thanksgiving itself:

Originally posted November 2007

5th grade is the “American History” grade in my school district (and probably most US school districts). As part of our study of the colonies we spent time delving into the first Thanksgiving. For the last week we focused on using multiple sources in research, so we used books, documentary video, and the internet to find out what they REALLY ate at the first Thanksgiving. Based on our research we put on as authentic a Thanksgiving/Harvest Festival as we could. I brought in a barbecue and cooked an 18 pound turkey, and the students were tasked with bringing in the rest. My student from Viet Nam brought in duck, others brought cod, corn, green beans, pumpkin (in the form of pie which the Pilgrims didn’t make – no sugar), bread, cranberries, wild berries, ginger ale (a stand-in for beer) our ESL teacher brought salmon and our school secretary donated venison.
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The students wrote about their Thanksgiving experiences and then about what they were looking forward to eating today – and then after our feast about what they had eaten. We noted colors, textures and smells. We took photos and watched video reenactments of the 1st Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we will work on blog posts … not sure how many will get posted, but our writing has been improving … so we’ll see.
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The experience was incredible. Most had never had REAL turkey before (processed or “rolled” turkey) or most of the other meats – and my students were totally intrigued by the whole thing. Green beans were new to many, and half had never had pumpkin pie before. 6 have never celebrated Thanksgiving (come from counrties that don’t celebrate as a national holiday). Students from other classes and grades saw our 18 pound turkey cooking and thought it was a chicken … when we explained it was a turkey they got perplexed looks on their faces … like why would you be cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving? We have chicken or tamales or…? Had to explain the whole cooking concept and serving concept … solid messy learning.

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When lunch was served … buffet style … students were tentative, but took some of everything. After everyone had been through the line I announced that there was plenty … don’t be shy … come back and have what you want without wasting food. Students came back and back and the food was eaten. The talk was all about how great it all was … never eaten food prepared like this was a common comment. We put the pumpkin pie on hold until late in the day. They loved it. Great conversations … and smiles … and good manners … students displayed joy.
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It was a lot of work … but when you do this kind of thing with your students … you usually catch yourself saying, “I should do this kind of lesson more often.”

Learning is messy!

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OK, We Have Change! Now Don’t Mess Up!!!

I’m writing this at 8:00pm Pacific Time election night and Obama has just been elected the 44th President of the United States, and the Democrats are picking up Senate and House seats. How many seat we won’t know for hours or so. Recent political history has shown the Democrats wasting their advantage when they had it the last time, and the Republicans totally blew away having the presidency and majorities in the House and Senate for much of this decade.

So now that we have made a big change in personnel that run this country, let’s hope that this change isn’t squandered. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been what has happened historically. What can each of us do to help it happen this time?

Change is messy!!!

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Exit Shanghai


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Originally uploaded by BCrosby

Like clockwork the ladies are out dancing in the park across the street like they have been everyday. The streets rumble to life and will soon become clogged because they are never wide enough to control the flood of cars and bikes and every kind of transportation. As fast as this city has sprung up I’m afraid it outstripped any chance to plan it for traffic flow and the like. It is also flooded by contrasts.

David Jakes, Alan Levine and I took the elevator to the top of the tallest building in the world yesterday (well it was the tallest building until a few weeks ago anyhow). It sits in the middle of the financial district along with other really tall buildings. You zoom to the top in state of the art elevators and when you look below you are struck by the sight of looking DOWN on the other tall buildings. As your eyes reach the ground there are rows of apartment-like buildings that stretch to the horizon, and those streets flooded by their inhabitants.

I’ve noted while here that although there is a large park across from our hotel and trees grow throughout the city wherever they can take root, you see no birds, squirrels … no sign of life other than the people. Perhaps in the rush to build the habitats were destroyed so fast, and for such a distance, that life hasn’t caught up yet. So perhaps Shanghai has that to look forward to. Perhaps it will catch up with itself and flourish as was promised and the Chinese people are counting on. We will see.

This has been a rush for me that I never could have attempted without having the students I have right now that can pursue learning on their own. If this had been a new class I don’t think I could have left them with a substitute teacher this early in the school year. I found out I was coming and had only days to prepare everything that was required for the trip … and it showed somewhat. My presentations were at least OK, but not as polished and well thought out as I would have liked. But this has been a trip and an education of a lifetime. The last minute dash was part of that experience and made it even more exciting.

I’m going to miss being with the people I worked with here, although we will stay connected through the network, it is not the same.
Exit

Learning is messy!

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The Adrenaline Rush Letdown


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Originally uploaded by BCrosby

One way this conference has been the same as all conferences is the pace. You get to the host city and maybe get a chance to look around a bit before the conference begins and then it does begin and you have to hit your pace. Where do I go? What sessions? Do I know you? Meeting up with people you only know online through your network, and then when you talk F2F with them you have this eerie realization that you know more about what they have been doing lately than some of your friends that live locally to you.

The pace of this conference was heightened for me just because of the sheer number of presentations and unconference sessions I was responsible for (or felt responsible for). And that is not a complaint, it’s just what happened. As I said yesterday, I loved it. Actually it reminds me of my favorite days as a teacher. Rushed, engaged, problem solving and tired at the end but feeling good about the day. As I write this it is donning on me that that is why I’m looking forward to getting back to my classroom for my next hit. My next adrenaline rush. I guess that’s why I’m still a teacher despite the myriad problems and issues and nonsense we are faced with each day – kind of scary in a way, but I mostly still love it even after 27 years.

And now I’m sitting in this comfortable room in the middle of a city of 24 million literally half way around the world from home, waiting to meet up with others to walk its streets – and I miss the pace a bit. That will change quickly as we hit our pace on the streets taking pictures, buying trinkets – memories.

But if you’ve conferenced before – you know what I mean.

Learning is messy!

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Initial Thoughts About Learning 2.008 Shanghai, China


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Originally uploaded by BCrosby

Just a few thoughts on my conference experience here while the impressions are fresh. But this might ramble around a bit. I’m posting this from Flickr so I can’t easily make links … I’ll try to add them from outside China.

First I was treated the whole time like a valued professional, by Jeff Utecht and all the people associated with the conference whose names are a blur right now. That might sound as an odd comment, but day in and day out that is not always the norm for teachers. I’ve never worked harder at a conference in my life, but thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I’d come back in a flash!

I found it interesting that bandwidth is a consistent struggle at edtech conferences, and that unfortunate fact continued here. However, beyond that the way the conference worked was mainly very well. Each morning the 1st 2 sessions were run like conferences you have probably attended. But after those sessions things changed. Based on your experiences and learning in those sessions attendees could Twitter requests for “follow-up” unconference sessions and/or we could just pick a topic that seemed of interest and offer it up as a possibility. Then a room was assigned and that session popped up on the Ning and the session started. I was in 3 Skype sessions Friday because I offered it once and it just kept getting requested. I was worried I’d become the “Skype Guy.” But Friday I did Web 2.0 unconference sessions and one on getting people off the dime and changing what school looks like and another that was just a general question answering, sharing, encouragement seeking kind of mash-up session that I can’t even remember what the original topic was.

The school was a palace compared to most schools I’ve worked in and the facilities were incredible.

Most of the attendees teach at “American Schools” in China, Thailand, Qatar, Singapore, and the rest of Asia. And most of these schools have enough tech to fill your wildest integration dreams. But guess what? They are also struggling to deal with the pedagogy of what that looks like … except they have the tech. What a perfect example of what happens when you don’t change the pedagogy but expect the tech to change it for you. What is worse is you’ve invested all that money in technology that is aging every day. And we have known this for 25 years! The good news is that there is a core group that gets that all too well. What will be worth watching is what transpires over the next few years. Will they get this done and become the model many have sought for years? A group of K-12 schools successfully changing what school looks like? Or another disappointment? I already knew some of the people in that core group, and now I have met more. They just might pull this off. I’ll be Watching.

It sure is tempting to come and be part of it too!

Learning is messy!!

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YUM!




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Originally uploaded by BCrosby

I had many tell me that I HAD to post many photos from Shanghai. This is a start. My hotel internet connection is not great so posting over 20 was really pretty good.

You will have to click on the photo to figure out why I chose this one over many. It is important to read what it says on the window.

Had a great first day here. So far I have managed to avoid jet lag. Jeff Utecht is the consummate host. Even though he is busy setting up this conference he took us around “Old Town” Shanghai this morning.

24 million people live in this city. Jeff showed me a freeway that they started construction on in June and is already well along its way.

Wish I could write more, but still much to do to get ready to present. See more photos on my Flickr page here.

Learning is messy!