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techntrek 
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
 Topic: Shuttle Launch (updated with pics)Posted: 21 May 2011 at 10:01pm |
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Yup, slag was on the bad word list. Not sure why, so I removed it (as you can see since it is in my post).
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Hodge-PODge
Senior Member 
Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539 |
Posted: 21 May 2011 at 10:40pm |
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I just KNEW you'd figure it out!
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2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it." |
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Guests
Guest Group 
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Posted: 22 May 2011 at 7:30am |
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Tech - you left out "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan!
 However, I left out Robert Goddard on my list of heros. I had a similar experience with my 7th grade science teacher. I had a question about parallel circuits that was perplexing me and that guy really dressed me down in front of the whole class. A couple of years later, I learned that he didn't know much about science at all - he did it because it was the only job available when he needed work. On the other hand, Mr. Hooper, in the 6th grade was great! He wasn't really a "science guy" but, I think he really enjoyed watching us learn. I remember him lecturing about WW2 and mentioning that a few of the GIs made "foxhole radios" to listen to for some entertainment. They did it using only those items that they could get their hands one; like safety pins, razor blades, scrap wire, etc. "Do you think you could make something like that, David?" The challege was on and about a week later, I brought in a contraption built from a scrap piece of wood, razor blade, safety pin, wire wound around a toilet paper tube, etc. I still remember the smile on his face when he was able to tune in 1 or 2 of the local AM broadcast stations. ......a radio that worked on no electricity (batteries or household AC)!  I still remember Mr. Hooper - and the other guy, too. Teachers can and do make a lifelong impact.
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TIDALWAVE
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Online Status: Offline Posts: 315 |
Posted: 22 May 2011 at 10:23am |
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In MN, during the late 50's and early 60's there were no 'advanced placement' classes in most K-12 school. I taught myself to read when I was three and was usually the 'grade spoiler' in most of my classes til college. I had a high school physics teacher who was so incompetent that several of us students were always whispering about his lecture mistakes at the rear of the class. The teacher tried to silence us. Finally I made a deal with him...if my group got perfect scores on the midterm he would arrange for us to do our own physics experiments in an adjacent lab. Of course we did...and we ended up repairing and improving on the lab equipment he dumped on our table. We read the text outside of class and took his bland tests. I learned more physics that year than in the rest of my undergrad and graduate studies.
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TIDALWAVE
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Hodge-PODge
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539 |
Posted: 22 May 2011 at 11:50am |
No one learns by JUST reading a textbook and taking a test! Students learn by doing (to which Tidalwave can attest).
Sometimes I think teachers are afraid of losing control when the teachable moment sends us off in a direction that is not in our lesson plans. However, when student interest and engagement drives the lesson, the student is going to learn a heck of a lot more. And teachers have to be willing to let that happen -- and for most teachers in this age of "accountability" on standardized tests, it's really a scary thing to let the students drive the lesson. My background is in project-based learning so I, for one, believe it can be done. (And thanks for the compliment, Podsible Dream.)
Oh yeah, and one other thing. . . . Students who test in and qualify for the gifted program are often very bored in the regular classroom, and may cause trouble or not do their work just because of that boredom.. Those students tend to think outside the box. Sounds like there are a few of you guys in this forum. It's a pity your teachers didn't recognize that quality in you because you are the inventors and the innovators in this world.
"To teach is to learn twice . . ."
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2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it." |
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tpierce220
Senior Member
Joined: 14 Jan 2011 Location: Oswego IL Online Status: Offline Posts: 281 |
Posted: 22 May 2011 at 5:05pm |
Amen! I face this problem with my staff at a university where they are afraid to let students have any control about what is being taught in the classroom. I, with a committee, revamped a curriculum for the required gen ed class that I supervise. I wanted to incorporate some student driven assessment tools and when one of the committee members discovered that a group of students would "grade" another student's presentation, he thew a fit. Some people are truly afraid to relinquish control of their classroom in fear that the teacher may come across as weak or incompetent. I, on the other hand, have more fun when students keep me on my toes, and it's really neat when a student takes you on a path that you didn't expect just to see where it takes you. It saddens me when teachers feel that they are the masters of their domain and that the students are treated like subjects. Students will never learn in that environment as some of you indicated.
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Adventures with ¡Podtástic!--Life in a Forest River RPod 182G with Tim and Louis and our two cats, Desi and Lucy. Check our website at http://podtastic.info for information on our journeys.
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Hodge-PODge
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539 |
Posted: 22 May 2011 at 7:13pm |
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I am in total agreement with what you said tpierce220. Actually, students are surpisingly on the mark and very fair when they grade each other. And their self-assessments are pretty honest, too. Granted, I work with the younger ones though. Isn't it absolutely amazing how many "Podders" are educators? (Or "inventors" like David and techntrek
 .) I guess we are all turning our pods into escape pods! |
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2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it." |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 24 May 2011 at 9:44am |
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Extra-ordinary camper for extra-ordinary campers.
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Snowbound
Senior Member
Joined: 17 Apr 2011 Location: Edmonton, AB Online Status: Offline Posts: 270 |
Posted: 24 May 2011 at 6:28pm |
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The years I home-schooled my kids I learned more about everything we studied than they did. When I found out my boys did not know where the Panama Canal was, we ended up studying history, science, and medicine as well as geography.
When we studied native Americans we learned things like the fact that different woods have different ignition points. It explained why our tinder was not catching fire. We caught distilled water with a cup and sheet of plastic from a hole dug in the ground and all kinds of things that weren't on the official curriculum because we had the time. Home schooling two kids is much more time-efficient than trying to teach a class of 25 to 35. Teachers have a very rough time trying to satisfy the expectations of administration, parents, students and society in general.
(Incidentally, Diane, October Sky is one of my all-time favourite movies.)
B
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Tom and Bette
in our 177 "The Gastropod" |
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Hodge-PODge
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539 |
Posted: 24 May 2011 at 8:36pm |
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Snowbound,
Some teachers are hostile to homeschooling, but I think it can be done well, and for the most part I commend parents who take that responsibility. I have a very good friend who homeschooled her 2 daughters and made sure they took the yearly state achievement tests so they would have those records when the girls went to college. In public school classroom management takes up a lot of time in the day. Homeschooled students can get the same amount of work done in 2-4 hours that takes a public school student all day long. But I also know some people who have done a very poor job of homeschooling because they homeschooled only to keep their children out of public school. (I'm sure you're NOT one of those!) But for parents who are truly taking responsibility for their children's education, homeschooling can be very successful and enriching. Sounds like you had as much fun learning as your kids did. And October Sky is truly one of the most inspirational movies I've ever seen.
P.S. I loved your science experiments!
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2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it." |
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Shuttle Launch (updated with pics)