Category: Uncategorized

Intelligent female characters becoming strong Leaders

I’m still emotionally buzzing from the end of episode 21 of El Ministerio del Tiempo and Amelia’s incredible courage, and character arc !!

More than just one protagonist, though, she stands in a line of female main characters (not always lead or protag, actually) who start off as just intelligent, and develop into both intelligent and strong female characters, a bit like Hermione Granger from the HP series:  these ladies began with some kind of growing to do, and did that growing through painful events, but grew, emotionally and personally (courage, committment, etc) to become much stronger than they started off the books or series, like:

Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5, or  Eda from Sihirli Annem,  or Nazli from Yabanci Damat all began as less than fully confident, but all very promising, intelligent, and self-directed young ladies, who had to learn to be more assertive, culminating in either marrying the person whom they chose (rather than their families chose), or by snatching victory from the jaws of death, or in the case of Amelia, deliberately walking into the possibility of the worst death known (an Auto-da-Fe) in history, for the purpose of making her point.  (ok, yes, you could argue that Delenn does this in B5’s Circle of Fire, but watch the Ministerio del Tiempo episode, and you will see that it is rather different, and also Delenn arrived on B5 as a mature leader, where Amelia began as a novice leader).

These are the examples of critical thinking, emotional growth, and self-confidence that young girls need to see as early and as often as possible to grow into leaders able and willing to stand alongside men and make this world a more just and humane place for all.

 

Read, Write, Dream, Teach !

ShiraDest
3rd of June, 2016

(9th of June edit: these ladies all learned to use cooperation with their allies, and even understanding and forms of NonViolent Communication with their enemies, to accomplish seemingly impossible goals: worth learning in various languages to share with others as I aspire to  become an excellent teacher, like all of these role models!) -Shira, 9 June, 2016

Let (or help) students do the thinking

I agree intellectually, but still find this amazing, and a bit guilty, emotionally:  a proficient “teacher rarely finishes any of the cognitive work that students could own.”  -Wow.  In other words, the students not only should think critically, not only ought to be encouraged to think, but must think critically, and for themselves!  This is what school should have always been!  This is not the teacher who asks, waits half a second, and then answers her own question while the students sit and look at her:  this is pushing kids to use that gray matter between their ears as if they really were real people -and they are!

(Yes, I am hearing the theme song of “Kids are People, Too!” from way back when!!)

*Quote comes from the Teaching Fellows core rubric: http://www.noycefdn.org/documents/hccollab/TNTP_Core%20Teaching%20Rubric.pdf

 

Read, Write, Dream, Teach !

ShiraDest
3rd of June, 2016

Why I am becoming a teacher again

“Conversations about the Common Core State Standards and

raising the rigor of student work were still years away, but even
then it was apparent that my practice demanded very little
of my students. I did nothing to encourage them to explore
multiple approaches. I did very little in terms of having them
explain their thoughts and ideas”
A veteran teacher on how the new Common Core Standards have allowed him to transform his teaching of mathematics from drudgery into joy, for his students.  This is what I want to do!
Read, Write, Dream, TEACH!
Shira

public resume

academic

resumeacademiaDownload

About the same time, dealt with false debt

Sample Debt Validation Letter

——————–
Date

Your name
Your street
Your city, state, and zip code

Name of the collection agency
Collection agency street address
City, state, and zip code

Attn. name of collection agency:

In accordance with my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I am hereby requesting formal validation of the alleged debt you are reporting to the major credit reporting agencies on my behalf. Please note that I am not requesting a simple account summary but instead you should forward the following information in a timely manner:

1. Validation that the alleged debt was established, including a signed application for credit.

2. Formal certification that the alleged debt was transferred to a third party if applicable.

3. Notarization regarding the alleged debt’s P&L application to federal or state tax write off.

4. A complete monthly accounting history from the alleged debt’s inception through the present date, including any alleged charges, penalties, service charges, and payments, as well as a certified attestation regarding current status.

5. Documentation regarding your company’s compliance, including applicable bond, regarding debt collection laws in my state.

I will look forward to receiving the requested documentation so that this matter will not escalate further. Otherwise, you are prevented from reporting this account to the consumer reporting agencies. Any further reporting is in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) section 809 (b) 15 USC 1692g.

Sincerely,

Your signature
Your printed name

——————–

.

Back in my home town, with Fresh Eyes

Well, I am back where I got started, but seeing people and places and events with far different eyes, and having a very different experience -different from what I have had previously, and different from what I was expecting, even as I landed here.  Maybe it is good to use the lessons learned and perspectives gained, even when it was hard going.  Maybe we really can change for the better.  The evidence seems to point upward for me, now.

And you, friends?

Read, Write, Dream, Teach !

ShiraDest
16th of April, 2016

Review (English) of: L’espace est une question de temps ; Einstein et la relativité

L'espace est une question de temps ; Einstein et la relativitéL’espace est une question de temps ; Einstein et la relativité by David Blanco Laserna

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was revealing not so much for his personal life, but for the ways in which Einstein represented people like my high school students back in 2001, or my Community College students in 2012, all of whom needed to understand the mysteries behind the mathematics, rather than just memorizing the rules.
My students needed, like this genius, perhaps a bit less authoritarian rule-following, and a bit more flexibility in my own ways of communicating with even those I saw as less hard-working. From their points of view, the situation was surely different, and as I learn that time and space is relative, I understand that so is thinking and teaching.
Well worth reading,

Read, Write, Dream, Teach !

ShiraDest
2nd of April, 2016

View all my reviews

How do we build math- and kid-positive department cultures?

Very true: “Knowledge was thought of as a product that teachers could give to students efficiently on a set schedule. We now know that learning does not work that way — deeper understandings that support retention and fluency with mathematics cannot simply be delivered.”

teachmathculture's avatarteaching/math/culture

I was pleased with the responses to my last post. A number of teachers reached out via twitter and comments, asking how they might build math- and kid-positive cultures in their own schools.

I can’t offer any large scale studies of the answer to this question, even though I am currently engaged in a research project that is trying to work with districts on similar issues. But I can share some of the experiences I had working with teachers in the Pacific Northwest toward this goal.

Gather invested colleagues around a common problem.

I always say, I have yet to meet a teacher who goes into the profession for the glamor or the money. Almost everybody who becomes a teacher wants to help kids. Find the folks whose heart is still in that. Find the ones who are willing and able to invest the time in their professional growth…

View original post 1,184 more words

Usefulness of a Year Zero

The Holocene Calendar, a calendar beginning at about the start of visible effects of human activity on the earth (around 12,000 years ago), is easier to use, understand and teach because it has a year Zero.

Unlike most calendars, which begin their counts at some point in the history of one particular group, the Holocene Calendar is meant to include all of humanity.  It’s also alot easier to teach kids history.  More importantly, having an inclusive calendar means we all learn to think of ourselves as human beings, all living in the Holocene or Human Era.

Read, Write, Dream, Teach !

ShiraDest
30 March, 12016 HE

(later edit: an inclusive Calendar is a good start, imho, for re-framing the way we think and communicate, which works with NonViolent Communication to change our culture and thus our world…) -9th of June,  2016