This is my goodbye to Candlestick Park post.
The Niners are playing the Falcons tonight. It's the last game ever at Candlestick Park. The over/under is 46.5. I took the over because the Niners are going to light it up.
I'd like to start with my most favorite Niners of all-time. In no particular order, they are Bill Walsh, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Terrell Owens, Deion Sanders, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young, Ken Norton Jr., and Mike Singletary.
This is it for me with the Niners. Yes, I did leave them to go to the Super Bowl with Jerry Rice and the Raiders, but even so, the Niners remained my second favorite (or tied for first favorite team with the Raiders). After tonight's game, the Niners are going to be like the Cowboys and the Giants. A new stadium should have been built in San Francisco, not Santa Clara. The Niners are no longer the San Francisco Forty Niners, rather, they are the Santa Clara Forty Niners. Just like the Giants are (or should be officially named) the New Jersey Giants and the Cowboys are (or should be officially named) the Arlington Cowboys. If I was the NFL commissioner, every team would be named after the city they actually play in, or be forced to stay and play in the city the team represents. I'll never go to Santa Clara for a Niners game. I'm not spending gas, lodging, parking, food, tickets, etc. Santa Clara is soooooo far away. If I want to go to Santa Clara for anything, it would be Great America. I think the seat licensing for the new stadium is ridiculous too.
I'll end with my most favorite Candlestick memories (again, in no particular order):
1) Niners v. Raiders pre-season. August 20, 2011. Yes, I wore my Warren Sapp Raiders away jersey and my friend and SF native, Ronnie, wore a Terrell Owens Niners home jersey. Even though there were fights and gunfire, we had a great time! I saw Frank Gore give a kid his gloves in the third quarter.
2) Niners v. Rams. October 6, 2002. Niners win 37-13. Best tailgate ever, ate what turned out to be a "bad burger" with my friend Peaches on the BBQ.
3) Giants v. Diamondbacks. May 29, 2001. My friends and I sat in the bleachers. The tickets were $8. Even though the Giants lost in the 18th inning, we were happy because we basically got two games for the price of one. There was also a red-headed streaker who got pretty far in his attempt to run across the field. Late in the game someone in the bleachers yelled, "Kids run the bases after the game!"
Some of my best memories of my life were at Giants night games, wearing my Giants beanies at Candlestick. I never left a game early. A Giant's night game at Candlestick was always the best time ever.
Goodbye Candlestick. Thanks for the memories. The Oakland Coliseum is where I'll make the rest of mine w/ the Raiders, Warriors and A's, exactly how and where major league sports teams play.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Standards Based Report Cards v. Letter Grades (Game On)
I have been waiting to write this post since August. I'll probably need to revise it at some point. I'll state my opinion at the beginning of this post. That way, if you are no longer interested, you won't end up wasting your time. (Kinyatta, stop reading now.) I think all teachers, K-12, should use standards based report cards. I feel so much better, just having typed that! My voice has been heard! That's all people really want half the time anyways, right? LOL, I digress.
Five years ago, I was on a committee that created a school district's elementary (K-6) Standards Based Report Card. It was technically a "STRANdards Based Report Card," because when read, it only listed strands, not specific standards. To me, a Standards Based Report Card is only such if ALL the standards are listed, at least core standards anyway. The report card committee that I was on lasted two years. Every time the committee met during year two, I would make one request, "Can we please list all core standards on the report card?" It never happened. I was told the document would be too long, parents wouldn't understand it, etc. This type of reasoning doesn't transfer anywhere else in the real world. For example, when I take my car to get serviced, the dealer doesn't tell me, "I just printed out parts of the report because you aren't a mechanic and you wouldn't understand it." Or, "I want to save paper, so I'm only printing out half of the report." Doctors and lawyers don't operate this way with their clients either. I think a lot of the undermining that goes on in the teaching profession is done by ourselves. We are to blame- either directly or indirectly.
The district provided a lot of informative documents for teachers about standards based reporting and education for parents as well. At one meeting, we were deciding if we should have a 3- meets standards and a 4- exceeds standards. We decided to go with the 3 and label it "meets and/or exceeds standards." I thought it was a good choice. It took me about one year to understand that I could not relate letter grades to meeting/exceeding, approaching, or below standard. In other words, a 3 does not equal an A, nor does 2 equal a C, and 1 does not equal an F. What does an "A" tell a parent or a student? In my opinion- nothing!
In a single subject, what does an A, B, C, D, or F mean or even represent? I teach soooooooo many standards that an A means nothing to me. Maybe the A represents that the student turns in his or her homework and classwork consistently. Maybe the A represents that the student tests well. I don't really know how a letter grade associated with each subject is more informative than assessing and reporting out on the specific standard. And what about the student who turns in all their homework, yet fails every type of assessment - they get a B? What have they learned? Where are they at in terms of mastering the standard? What is going on at home during homework?
Here is an example from 6th grade math: "CCSS.Math.6.NS.B.3 Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation." This is how I would assess the standard: I would look at data from Edusoft and Renaissance Place, as well as work done in class by the student. My definition of fluency is 85% and up. If the data shows the student does all of these operations with decimals with what I have defined as fluency, that student would get a 3. If the student adds decimals fluently, but is not able to fluently subtract, multiply or divide them, the student would get a 2, and consider the student's mastery of that standard as approaching, since the student is at least able to add decimals. If a student is not able to fluently complete any of the operations with decimals, I would give them a 1- below grade level standards. Standards are black and white. It's kind of like deciding if a number is odd or even. It is or it isn't. A student can either do the standard (3), kind of do the standard (2), or can't at all (1).
At this point you might be asking, "Where is this coming from?" To make a long story short, I switched schools. I'm back to letter grades. I miss my standards based report card, dearly.
I see the issue of standards based reporting as a glacier. As Eloise would say, at the "tippy top" of the glacier there exist the letter grades. However, I recommend traveling to the bottom of the glacier, where the glacier itself is colder and bigger than anyone could imagine. Could a high school GPA be calculated using a standards based report card? The answer is yes. What role does secondary grading have in elementary grading? I always asked myself if I was preparing students for the reality of letter grades for their transition to junior high. I don't think I was, but I was able to accurately determine their progress with mastering standards.
If anyone LOVES their letter grades, I'd LOVE to hear from you. I'm interested in your perspective. Why are people sooooooo attached to letter grades? When my last school switched from letter grades to standards, there was a lot of push back from parents, students and teachers. Why? What is the reasoning?
Five years ago, I was on a committee that created a school district's elementary (K-6) Standards Based Report Card. It was technically a "STRANdards Based Report Card," because when read, it only listed strands, not specific standards. To me, a Standards Based Report Card is only such if ALL the standards are listed, at least core standards anyway. The report card committee that I was on lasted two years. Every time the committee met during year two, I would make one request, "Can we please list all core standards on the report card?" It never happened. I was told the document would be too long, parents wouldn't understand it, etc. This type of reasoning doesn't transfer anywhere else in the real world. For example, when I take my car to get serviced, the dealer doesn't tell me, "I just printed out parts of the report because you aren't a mechanic and you wouldn't understand it." Or, "I want to save paper, so I'm only printing out half of the report." Doctors and lawyers don't operate this way with their clients either. I think a lot of the undermining that goes on in the teaching profession is done by ourselves. We are to blame- either directly or indirectly.
The district provided a lot of informative documents for teachers about standards based reporting and education for parents as well. At one meeting, we were deciding if we should have a 3- meets standards and a 4- exceeds standards. We decided to go with the 3 and label it "meets and/or exceeds standards." I thought it was a good choice. It took me about one year to understand that I could not relate letter grades to meeting/exceeding, approaching, or below standard. In other words, a 3 does not equal an A, nor does 2 equal a C, and 1 does not equal an F. What does an "A" tell a parent or a student? In my opinion- nothing!
In a single subject, what does an A, B, C, D, or F mean or even represent? I teach soooooooo many standards that an A means nothing to me. Maybe the A represents that the student turns in his or her homework and classwork consistently. Maybe the A represents that the student tests well. I don't really know how a letter grade associated with each subject is more informative than assessing and reporting out on the specific standard. And what about the student who turns in all their homework, yet fails every type of assessment - they get a B? What have they learned? Where are they at in terms of mastering the standard? What is going on at home during homework?
Here is an example from 6th grade math: "CCSS.Math.6.NS.B.3 Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation." This is how I would assess the standard: I would look at data from Edusoft and Renaissance Place, as well as work done in class by the student. My definition of fluency is 85% and up. If the data shows the student does all of these operations with decimals with what I have defined as fluency, that student would get a 3. If the student adds decimals fluently, but is not able to fluently subtract, multiply or divide them, the student would get a 2, and consider the student's mastery of that standard as approaching, since the student is at least able to add decimals. If a student is not able to fluently complete any of the operations with decimals, I would give them a 1- below grade level standards. Standards are black and white. It's kind of like deciding if a number is odd or even. It is or it isn't. A student can either do the standard (3), kind of do the standard (2), or can't at all (1).
At this point you might be asking, "Where is this coming from?" To make a long story short, I switched schools. I'm back to letter grades. I miss my standards based report card, dearly.
I see the issue of standards based reporting as a glacier. As Eloise would say, at the "tippy top" of the glacier there exist the letter grades. However, I recommend traveling to the bottom of the glacier, where the glacier itself is colder and bigger than anyone could imagine. Could a high school GPA be calculated using a standards based report card? The answer is yes. What role does secondary grading have in elementary grading? I always asked myself if I was preparing students for the reality of letter grades for their transition to junior high. I don't think I was, but I was able to accurately determine their progress with mastering standards.
If anyone LOVES their letter grades, I'd LOVE to hear from you. I'm interested in your perspective. Why are people sooooooo attached to letter grades? When my last school switched from letter grades to standards, there was a lot of push back from parents, students and teachers. Why? What is the reasoning?
Thursday, November 7, 2013
iPad v. Chromebook- Let's Clear the Air!
I am lucky. I work in a school where each of my students has an iPad, provided by the school district and property of the school district. I like to think of it as 1:1 computing at its finest. I have an iPad, a MacBook Pro, an iPhone, and a Chromebook.
This year, two schools have come to observe me teach and (more importantly) observe students using, interacting with and learning from their technology. They were classroom teachers (grades 4, 5, 6), principals and a supt/principal.
After each observation, we debrief.
Each debrief has included this question from the observers: Should our school buy iPads or Chromebooks? Which is better?
My answer to this question changes daily. Today my answer would be both- the iPad and the Chromebook. I know this is unrealistic in many ways.
I'm going to explain my thinking behind this by first starting with my personal experience. I use all of my devices for certain things. I use my Chromebook mostly when I am in my Google drive, when I am working in the cloud. I use my iPad, MacBook and iPhone when I am tweeting, making iMovies, and Power Point presentations. For example, right now I am blogging on my MacBook Pro because I am not blogging from my school district Google account. Personally, I love Apple. I willingly let Apple, (mainly Siri) run my life. Apple is my personal device. All of my iTunes, iPhotos and videos are on my Apple devices. I will only tweet from my iPhone!
Next up is my teaching experience with the iPad and Chromebook. I've had one or the other in my classroom. This year with iPads, my students have no keyboarding accountability. The past five years, they had keyboarding proficiency/automaticity standards. If memory serves me correctly 6th grade proficiency was 15-16 wpm w/ 3 or less errors. Negative for the iPad- lack of keyboarding.
If you are going to let the Smarter Balanced Assessment rule your life, your students need to be able to keyboard accurately (i.e. not hunt and peck). Trust me- I piloted the ELA portion of the test last spring.
iPad negative- keyboarding.
Chromebook- great for keyboarding.
iPad negative- it doesn't run flash.
Chromebook- great for flash (enVision math). I see value in having students take a 5 question math quiz on-line from the enVision curriculum.
Chromebook great for running Sumdog. iPad- again, doesn't support flash.
iMovie- can't be beat. iPhoto- can't be beat.
Durability- personally, I think Chromebooks break as easily as iPads.
iPad apps cost money (usually). GAFE seems to have more choices that don't cost money.
iPad negative- management. Pushing out apps, synching apps, IOS updates- it's a nightmare!!! (And I don't think part of my job description is effective iPad management that is done well/efficiently.) But I try my best. I don't have to manage Chromebooks the way I manage iPads.
iPads/Apple has allure or popularity factor. Apple products are cool! Apple products are in!
My class understands that their iPad is property of the school district and to be used for educational purposes only. It is not their "personal" device.
My final opinion on this day in November, 2013 is.......iPad over Chromebook because of increased student engagement. My bottom line is student learning outcomes and student engagement. My students are most engaged on their iPads.
I dedicate this blog to my sister-in-law. My biggest blog fan!!!
This year, two schools have come to observe me teach and (more importantly) observe students using, interacting with and learning from their technology. They were classroom teachers (grades 4, 5, 6), principals and a supt/principal.
After each observation, we debrief.
Each debrief has included this question from the observers: Should our school buy iPads or Chromebooks? Which is better?
My answer to this question changes daily. Today my answer would be both- the iPad and the Chromebook. I know this is unrealistic in many ways.
I'm going to explain my thinking behind this by first starting with my personal experience. I use all of my devices for certain things. I use my Chromebook mostly when I am in my Google drive, when I am working in the cloud. I use my iPad, MacBook and iPhone when I am tweeting, making iMovies, and Power Point presentations. For example, right now I am blogging on my MacBook Pro because I am not blogging from my school district Google account. Personally, I love Apple. I willingly let Apple, (mainly Siri) run my life. Apple is my personal device. All of my iTunes, iPhotos and videos are on my Apple devices. I will only tweet from my iPhone!
Next up is my teaching experience with the iPad and Chromebook. I've had one or the other in my classroom. This year with iPads, my students have no keyboarding accountability. The past five years, they had keyboarding proficiency/automaticity standards. If memory serves me correctly 6th grade proficiency was 15-16 wpm w/ 3 or less errors. Negative for the iPad- lack of keyboarding.
If you are going to let the Smarter Balanced Assessment rule your life, your students need to be able to keyboard accurately (i.e. not hunt and peck). Trust me- I piloted the ELA portion of the test last spring.
iPad negative- keyboarding.
Chromebook- great for keyboarding.
iPad negative- it doesn't run flash.
Chromebook- great for flash (enVision math). I see value in having students take a 5 question math quiz on-line from the enVision curriculum.
Chromebook great for running Sumdog. iPad- again, doesn't support flash.
iMovie- can't be beat. iPhoto- can't be beat.
Durability- personally, I think Chromebooks break as easily as iPads.
iPad apps cost money (usually). GAFE seems to have more choices that don't cost money.
iPad negative- management. Pushing out apps, synching apps, IOS updates- it's a nightmare!!! (And I don't think part of my job description is effective iPad management that is done well/efficiently.) But I try my best. I don't have to manage Chromebooks the way I manage iPads.
iPads/Apple has allure or popularity factor. Apple products are cool! Apple products are in!
My class understands that their iPad is property of the school district and to be used for educational purposes only. It is not their "personal" device.
My final opinion on this day in November, 2013 is.......iPad over Chromebook because of increased student engagement. My bottom line is student learning outcomes and student engagement. My students are most engaged on their iPads.
I dedicate this blog to my sister-in-law. My biggest blog fan!!!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Today Was A Good Day, Reflection.
A good day, reflection.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to be observed by a principal of another local elementary school and a fourth grade teacher from that school. It was an activity that I had not done before. I talked myself into doing it by thinking about risk-taking and telling myself that it would be okay to fail. In all honesty, while I think you can learn from failure, I don’t like failing. I don’t even really like risk-taking. I consider myself to be a creature of habit. I also think that taking risks is easier said than done. I don’t like change either, but change is necessary. The premise of the lesson was using the Educreations app to have each student teach another student how to do the order of operations. There were no guidelines specifically about how they could create their lesson. There was no time limit for the duration of their lesson, they could use their math book- or not. I told them- you will share your lesson with another student and have discourse through the SMP lense of attending to precision and constructing a viable argument and critiquing the reasoning your partner. I told them spelling is not up for critique. And that was basically it. They did it. They shared their lessons. The app worked seamlessly. Some students shared their lessons with the whole class. The lessons from each iPad projected through the SmartBoard seamlessly. It was good. I was glad I took the risk. It was a successful risk because I thought it would work anyways. I’m not afraid to try something new, but I do get flustered if it goes wrong, or there are bumps in the road. I like to live as close to perfection as possible. It’s lonely at the top. We debriefed the lesson. They loved it. They saw value in it. The stress and nerves from Monday and Tuesday were worth it for the Wednesday observation. After the debrief and lesson, I was on cloud nine. Happy with myself and happy with my perceived perfection. After they left, I checked my phone. I had a missed call and a voicemail from my mom. I figured she needed to know what time pick up my daughter from Spanish class that day, so I just called her back without listening to her voicemail. Here is how the conversation went:
Me: Hi, I saw I missed your call.
Mom: Have you talked to your brother?
Me: No. Why?
Mom: He didn’t tell you?
Me: Tell me what?
Mom: He is interviewing Buster Posey in San Francisco for Bleacher Report at 11am.
(it was 11:33am)
Me: Whaaaaaaaaattttt??!?!? OMG!!!!!!! Seriously!!!!!
My brother had a better day than me. And I thought my day was good.
Here is the link to his article.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to be observed by a principal of another local elementary school and a fourth grade teacher from that school. It was an activity that I had not done before. I talked myself into doing it by thinking about risk-taking and telling myself that it would be okay to fail. In all honesty, while I think you can learn from failure, I don’t like failing. I don’t even really like risk-taking. I consider myself to be a creature of habit. I also think that taking risks is easier said than done. I don’t like change either, but change is necessary. The premise of the lesson was using the Educreations app to have each student teach another student how to do the order of operations. There were no guidelines specifically about how they could create their lesson. There was no time limit for the duration of their lesson, they could use their math book- or not. I told them- you will share your lesson with another student and have discourse through the SMP lense of attending to precision and constructing a viable argument and critiquing the reasoning your partner. I told them spelling is not up for critique. And that was basically it. They did it. They shared their lessons. The app worked seamlessly. Some students shared their lessons with the whole class. The lessons from each iPad projected through the SmartBoard seamlessly. It was good. I was glad I took the risk. It was a successful risk because I thought it would work anyways. I’m not afraid to try something new, but I do get flustered if it goes wrong, or there are bumps in the road. I like to live as close to perfection as possible. It’s lonely at the top. We debriefed the lesson. They loved it. They saw value in it. The stress and nerves from Monday and Tuesday were worth it for the Wednesday observation. After the debrief and lesson, I was on cloud nine. Happy with myself and happy with my perceived perfection. After they left, I checked my phone. I had a missed call and a voicemail from my mom. I figured she needed to know what time pick up my daughter from Spanish class that day, so I just called her back without listening to her voicemail. Here is how the conversation went:
Me: Hi, I saw I missed your call.
Mom: Have you talked to your brother?
Me: No. Why?
Mom: He didn’t tell you?
Me: Tell me what?
Mom: He is interviewing Buster Posey in San Francisco for Bleacher Report at 11am.
(it was 11:33am)
Me: Whaaaaaaaaattttt??!?!? OMG!!!!!!! Seriously!!!!!
My brother had a better day than me. And I thought my day was good.
Here is the link to his article.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Dolphin Toothpaste
I thought this was a pretty catchy title. And you might enjoy the catchy story that goes with it.
Today we were comparing pictures of different types of waves. I thought it was a relatively interesting area of curriculum. The 6th graders probably had their own opinions....which I didn't ask for.
So as we compared one of the questions was, "How are the waves changing?" The answer is the waves are breaking at the shoreline and more white, instead of blue. Everyone got this, easily. So, to make things more challenging, I said, "What causes waves to turn white?"
I called on a student who I knew would have the right answer. The student said, "Waves turn white because it's dolphin toothpaste!" Although this wasn't the right answer, it made my day! I kindly said, "You are incorrect, but that was the cutiest part of my day and TYVM for that!" While this student had the wrong answer, the answer immediately made me think of everything I love this year (but not limited to): llamas, unicorns, llamacorns, rainbows, glitter, fainting goats, mermaids and dolphins!
Today we were comparing pictures of different types of waves. I thought it was a relatively interesting area of curriculum. The 6th graders probably had their own opinions....which I didn't ask for.
So as we compared one of the questions was, "How are the waves changing?" The answer is the waves are breaking at the shoreline and more white, instead of blue. Everyone got this, easily. So, to make things more challenging, I said, "What causes waves to turn white?"
I called on a student who I knew would have the right answer. The student said, "Waves turn white because it's dolphin toothpaste!" Although this wasn't the right answer, it made my day! I kindly said, "You are incorrect, but that was the cutiest part of my day and TYVM for that!" While this student had the wrong answer, the answer immediately made me think of everything I love this year (but not limited to): llamas, unicorns, llamacorns, rainbows, glitter, fainting goats, mermaids and dolphins!
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