Really, December 1st already?

Where does the time go?  I swear it was just August 1st yesterday!

We have been having difficulties with completing many Globaloria activities, but I believe we are getting a handle on all of our issues and soon will be making progress again.  Yesterday and today, for example, Katelyn has been working on her mini game.  You can see her progress here.  As you can see we are working on getting her mini game files on her project page.  Katelyn has been working very hard at getting her mini game complete so please go wish her luck.

Aaliyah has completed her mini game and it is posted on her projects page.  Kelly has also completed her mini game and you can see it on here.  Mercedez, Kayla, and Pam are all starting their mini-games tomorrow. 

We may be slow, but we are steadily gaining ground.  In the whole scheme of life, I believe the process teaches us the most. 

What Worries Me Most

I come from a long long line of worriers.  Yes, I am the product of a Warrior Worrier Family.  I would spend the day at my grandmother's when I was sick.  She would literally stare at me when she wasn't covering me up because I looked too cold, uncovering me because I looked to hot, feeding me because I looked weak, giving me a drink so I would not dehydrate, making sure I wasn't too close to the television so my eyes would not go bad, and so on.  My mom worried about everything as well.  If  I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night the questions would ensue:  Did you wash your hands?  Did you flush?  Is the toilet still running?  Are you sick?  Did you drink too much before you went to bed?  Are you sure you washed your hands?  My point being I was inundated with constant worry and anxiety I never really worried ever.

I think when you grow up with so much worry you either become just as bad or you do not worry at all; neither are good.  I believe to function you need to worry about the important not the improbable. A good healthy dose of worry about  paying bills, getting to work on time, your children being healthy, etc seems okay to me. 

I worry more as I grow older.  My sources of worry are not the color of the sky, December 27, 2012, whether or not the toilet is running, or worry of worries what if....  My worries are more about my children.  Are they getting enough sleep, are they doing well in school, am I being a good parent, can I make it to work on time so I can stay employed and take care of my children, how do I schedule all of their activities, will they go to college, will they be productive adults, etc.  I also worry about the girls I teach.  I worry if I am doing all I can for them, if they are learning, will they go on to college, will they be productive adults,etc. 

My advice, worry just do not let it take over your ever waking moment.  Don't worry about what you cannot change and if you worry about something you can change do what you have to do to change it.

Okay, I am done preaching today! 





|

Happy Teacher!!!!

Most of you are ready to move on to Choosing a Topic if you haven't started it already.   Please make sure you complete all sections under Choosing a Topic including the blog assignment.  Here is an example of someone who is well on their way to completing their Choosing a Topic assignment.  Please follow her lead and get your assignment finished as well.

I have also noticed many of you did not complete your "What is Civics" and "Game Genre" blog assignments.  Here is an example of someone that completed both blog assignments.  I know I have not been blogging very much and I plan to rectify that immediately starting with this blog post.  If I expect you to be responsible I must model good behavior.   

Our biggest bumble, and yes, I said our, is the neglect of our learning logs.  This is mostly my fault, but we all will be remedying this immediately as well.  Okay, let's make me a happy teacher and all of you happy students. 

Our 39th President

James Earl Carter, Jr. was our country's 39th President.  Many people my age remember when he was president.  We remember a fuel crisis where gas went up to almost $1.00 a gallon, American hostages being taken and held in Iraq, Three Mile Island, the $200 Sony Walkman (which played cassette tapes),  Bungee jumping beginning, peanut farming,  Trivial Pursuit, The first Alien movie, Mork and Mindy,  and Amy Carter living in the White House(some of us were very jealous).  President Carter was the leader of our country in a tumultuous time in our nation's history. During his tenure as president he encountered the disaster of Three Mile Island, Iraqi Hostage Crisis, stagflation and the gas/energy crisis.  President Carter a supporter of negotiation not violence aided in the Camp David Accords, SALT, and The Panama Canal Treaties.  As long supporters of human rights, President and Mrs. Carter opened the Carter Center to aid in bolstering human rights across the planet.  President and Mrs. Carter still volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.





I could go on and on; only President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after leaving office, a Naval Officer, a two term Georgia State Senator, a peanut farmer, a family man, a proponent of civil rights, created the law making life in prison a substitute for the no longer available death penalty in Georgia, writer, public speaker, and negotiator.

President Carter has been involved in great acts for many decades, so why am I blogging about him today?  I am blogging about him today because even at almost 86 years old he flew to North Korea this week and negotiated the release of American School teacher, Aijalon Gomes.  Mr. Gomes was sentenced to 8 years hard labor for crossing the border from China to North Korea and committing a "hostile act".  Not only did President Carter bring Mr. Gomes home to the United States on Friday, August 27, 2010 he discussed North Korea's nuclear program with Kim Yong Nam.  This is a man I feel we can and should all learn from.  Long story short, after talking with my students and researching President Carter I felt compelled to invite him to speak to my students.  My theory is if you want to change what is wrong in the world start with the children.  My students may not be young children, but they are young and they are or will be having children.  Violence does not have to be the answer to every conflict


See my letter to President Carter below:



August 27, 2010

President James E. Carter
Carter Foundation
453Freedom Parkway NE
Atlanta, GA 30307

Dear President Carter:

I would like to invite you to speak to my students at Crittenton Services in Wheeling, West Virginia. Crittenton Services is a gender specific treatment facility, and our students range in age from 13-18. Many of our girls have experienced great turmoil in their lives and have suffered many hardships. We try to help them get emotionally healthy, educate them, prepare them for adulthood and all of its responsibilities, and give them skills to handle anything that may come their way. I want to instill upon them violence is not the answer to their problems, and I could think of no person better than you to discuss this with them.
We participate in Globaloria, a five year pilot program focused on teaching 21st century skills utilizing wikis, blogs, and Adobe Flash programming. Our focus in this pilot is civics. Today, the students read the article about you securing the pardon for Aijalon Gomes and bringing him home from North Korea. They then researched you and blogged about your missions of peace.
Please let me know if you are ever available to speak to our girls any time in the future. You can contact me at 304-242-7525 or mmilliken@crittentonservices.com. If you would like to know more about our organization, please visit our Web site at http://www.florencecrittenton.net/.
Sincerely,
Melonie Milliken
GED Instructor

Welcome Back

Welcome back!  Okay, I realize most of you just were in class last week, but still welcome back.

Tuesday

Hello Everyone!

Paul McCartney

I guess I would have to say Paul McCartney is my favorite Beatle. I know impressions of artists, musicians, singers, actors, etc are skewed because they generally let us see what they want us to see and their managers construct their images, but I find Sir Paul to be a classy man. Paul, comes from England is a singer songwriter, is an active member PETA, plays many different instruments, is a composer, entrepreneur, producer, painter and a poet. Plus, my mom says he was the "cute Beatle". One of my favorite Beatle songs featuring Paul is

The Jury 's Out

Whew! Lori and I just created our team...The Jury's Out. I am not sure if that refers to our game or our gaming skills! We have our topic....Juveniles in placement. Obviously, this a topic near and dear to our hearts. I will keep you updated with our progress.

Sirdeaner Walker

I am sure most of you have no idea who Sirdeaner Walker is or what how her life is forever changed. She is a single working parent whom within the last year lost her 11 year old son to suicide. Yes, I said suicide. Her son, Carl, was speaking with his mother one day as she cooked dinner when he said he was going to his room. Sirdeaner assumed he was completing homework or playing video games as he did frequently after school. Imagine her horror when she found him hanging by the neck from an extension cord.

Why would an 11 year old honor roll student, athlete, and active member in his church want to kill himself? I know the answer is only known by Carl, but the fact is Carl was being bullied at school. Children in his school were calling him gay, faggot, and harassing him. Carl was devastated and told his mother. Sirdeaner called the school. The school said it was a part of normal social interaction. Carl continued to endure the bullying.

After Carl's death, Sirdeaner chose not to lie down and let grief consume her. Sirdeaner focused on making schools safe for all children. She met with representatives of GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) which helped her understand how widespread bullying is in this nation's schools. Sirdeaner is encouraging everyone to sign this petition to get the Safe Schools Improvement Act (H.R. 2262) passed. Please hear Carl's and Sirdeaner's story here. Children are still committing suicide due to harassment and bullying, recently Phoebe Prince committed suicide due to being bullied. This is a national crisis.

This Friday, GLSEN is having a National Day of Silence to raise awareness of Anit-LGBT bullying in schools. If you want to join in raising awareness you can sign up here. GLSEN's National Day of Silence in 2009 fell on what would have been Carl's 12th birthday. Click here to read their support of Carl and his family.

Please for the sake of all our nation's children take the time to read and consider signing this petition.

Spring has Sprung!!

I am not sure what it is about spring, but it seems to inspire and trigger all sorts of things for us humans. I can attest to the fact in my classroom alone I have seen hair color changes, attitude changes (for the better), an increased work ethic, a desire to clean, and smiling (yes, smiling). Is it the sun makes you feel sunny? Or that the warm weather warms your soul? Or is it we are biologically programmed to change in the spring? Whatever it is we are definitely feeling the effects of spring.

Here are our big plans based on our current attitude:

• Complete our team pages
• post our game demo
• complete two games
• demonstrate our games to staff, clients, and Globaloria staff
• blog on a regular basis related to our game and current civics issues
  

So, please do everything you can to keep the sun shining and our progress up!

The LittleEngine That Could...

Just like the engine in this story sometimes my students need to be motivated. It is not that they are incapable of great things, it is the fact no one told them enough or believed they were capable of great things. I strive to build my students' self esteem because I believe it is the key to motivation. Extrinsic rewards will initially work, but long term motivation has to come from within.

Initially I use extrinsic motivators to get my students to start working. I have baked cookies, made pepperoni bread, let them listen to music, let them color, etc as a reward for starting an assignment. Once students complete an assignment successfully their self esteem grows and in turn motivation grows. Other motivating factors for my students are having the opportunity to mentor each other in Globaloria , calls and comments from other schools, instructors, David, and Rachel are highly motivating to my students, and webex sessions. This semester they will be required to read other student blogs and wiki pages and comment on both.

I struggle every day to find good motivators for my girls. What motivates one student does not motivate another. I have to agree with Dionne the most important tool in motivation is knowing your students. Take time every day to get to know who they are, what they find important, what their concerns are, etc. You need to take a real interest in your students. If you really care and show you care about them it motivates them.

I look forward to more motivating ideas from my fellow Globaloria instructors. I will be reading your blogs and listening to your ideas. Thank you in advance.

My Resolutions

Mr. Dorsey has challenged the Globaloria instructors to post our resolutions for this semester and I have accepted!

My resolutions for my Globaloria classroom for this semester are:

• To encourage my students to find the answers on their own.
  
  
• To be aware that I will need to step in sometimes and help them find the answer.
  
  
• To challenge my students to do their best, not just what will get the assignment completed.
  
  
• To ask for help when I need it (which at times can be a lot).
  
  
• To update my learning log on a regular basis.
  
  
• To have my students update their learning logs on a regular basis.
  
  
• To challenge myself to learn more about flash, the wiki, and blogging.
  
  
• To challenge my students to learn more about flash, the wiki, and blogging.
  
  
• To blog on a regular basis.
  
  
  

FINALLY!!!

FINALLY!

I say finally because:

• I am BACK to work
• We HAVE school!
• My students are working!!!

It has been a long 4 weeks. It is amazing how time flies by when you are busy. During the past month these events have occured in my life:

• One of my daughter's had a birthday
• numerous doctor/dentist appointments for my children and myself
• two sick children
• I had surgery
• Christmas
• New Year's
• School break
• Return to school

On paper it does not seem like a lot, but in reality these four weeks have flown by me. Birthday was wonderful, appointments went well, children are better, surgery was a big success, Christmas was wonderful, New Year's was just as wonderful, school break was restful, and my return to school is exciting. I know my students have experienced just as many events as I have the past few weeks and are feeling the stress of returning to school after such a long break.

The consequence of all of this activity is our minds are foggy. We have trouble remembering our routine, the rules, and little things on the wiki and on Flash. We are all working on our wiki assignment, drawing in Flash today. Some of us are experiencing a great deal of frustration, but give us time we will finish with flying colors.

Are any of you having trouble getting back into the hang of things? How are you wiki assignments going? Are you having frustrations with Flash? If so, what are they? How did you solve them?