Most interesting article I've read in at least a few years

What do you know? Read all five parts ... fascinating!

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/the-anosognosics-dilemma-1/

Volume and shape: how to pack for vacation

This is practical and educational ;) This is my way of wishful thinking. I want to take a vacation: France, Turkey, somewhere ...

I always questioned the fold vs. rolled packing method. Noticing that the rolled method fits more things, I do my best to stick with that. I add a second step of rolling, packing the rolled item in a ziplock bag, then kneeling on it. I probably take too much stuff with me when I travel, but I never go over the weight size. I usually travel for two months.

It would be an interesting experiment to see what the difference between these two methods are using a ratio. I wonder if someone else has calculated this ratio.

High school math to the rescue

The distribution of numbers (things that are counted in particular) has never bothered my mind. However, I like the article and the comments that follow: you don't need to be a mathematician to see that the 'so-called' problem stated in the outset is probably not a problem at all for math/physics. I'm not enough of an expert to say if there are other far-reaching propositions that can be made from this and benefit us because of the application of such a rule. With enough math in my tool belt, as I read it, I was able to come up with examples and my own thoughts on it that were justified because they resembled several people who had come up with the same ideas as I did. 

I hate the phrase "I'm no mathematician, but ...": math is for the people, for everyone who cares to learn its language. The earlier quote shows how removed people in Western societies feel from something that I find so natural. Without math, how could this world exist? The physical world is built on a framework of this elegant system. So, we are in awe of it. I'm cool with that, I am too. Does it mean we have to fear it like God? God is a human construct -- maybe there is a God, but math won't throw a thunderbolt down on us if we slight It. Math won't judge us if we gossip or don't choose the right Math to pray to. Math is the first thing to exist. I guess I feel fortunate that I can read an article about something that makes people think -- and have an opinion about it, an intelligent guess at the answer. 

Math blog

I stumbled on this blog. The content is interesting so far, but I need more time to look through it.
Why we learn math (I've read this)
Math examples (Want to look into this later)

Teaching French

I printed out this info sheet about French language proficiency testing. I emailed UofT to find out what level of French I would need to even take this test. I know two people that have taken such a test before and would know at what level my French will have to reach so that I can pass this test. It would be a good idea to take AQ courses in FSL, but it might take some time before my French is this proficient. It's a very good goal to set and will keep me motivated to study French. I would love to be able to add languages to my repertoire: French and ESL and literacy. I love the idea that I will teach Math and Computer Science (languages in their own right) and one day teach ESL and French. That would make me the happiest. In my quest to answer my original question from my first post, a teacher is one who wears many hats, a sort of 'knowledge chameleon.' I wonder if my term (that defines a teacher) will ever catch on :) Need to think of a suitable definition for my term, too! Ha! Creating more work for myself, how typical.

Open Access Scholarship and Teaching

I like to prepare ... and worry. Since I was a child, I have always prepared for the 'next' event, that being teacher's college. Immediately, I looked up some books at the UofT libraries. Very interesting stuff :) My second thought, with a huge time delay, was to check out MIT OpenCourseWare (Experiments in Education). When I want to learn something that  doesn't fall into the how-to category, like language learning, philosophy or computer stuff, I turn to MIT. I remember when they unleashed this site! I wished I had access to this when I was making choices to enter university. THIS is the best advertisement for a university. That's simply a bi-product, though, a good one at that. Teachers from the same discipline or from crossover disciplines could find syllabli and reading lists, even assignments, a valuable resource. During my Master's (linguistics), I always found that more and more barriers to access to information -- not less. Researching for my papers, preparing for tutorials, or browsing a journal became a skill of its own.  When I wrote papers I always preferred quote published articles that I found on a professor's site, or a free download from a university conference page. Access to materials to learn from, to help teachers, to quote from and use for research should all be made available for open access. When I found this presentation online, it has motivated me continue learning from what other teachers have written online. There are other people in Toronto, in Canada, and around the world that believe in sharing their knowledge -- in a manner that is easy to find and access.

Celebrating Linguistic Diversity (2010 conference)

At the end of this month, I plan to attend a conference, held at OISE, to learn more about how teachers differentiate their teaching methods for linguistically diverse communities.

Aside from the strictly linguistic presentations, two seminars that stood out for me are both presented by Vesna Nikolic.

20P Making Questions Count, Thursday afternoon

"Can your questions make or break your class? Can they make you a better teacher? To what extent can effective questions help English language learners develop their communication, cognitive, and critical thinking skills? What does research say about teacher questions? What questions work best at which level? Would you like to find the answers to these questions? Don’t worry. No questions asked during this workshop!"

45A Fascinated by the Brain, Friday morning

"Attend this workshop and explore the implications of brain research on language teaching and learning. Discuss good teaching practices that facilitate learning. Learn about neuroplasticity. Talk about the “gendered brain”. Discuss creativity. Think about where we go from here. Finally, learn how to care for your own most precious software."

I still have some time to pick my optional classes. The classes are classified under elementary, secondary, and all. I plan to attend as many as I can. I hope I can make some contacts in local schools. I was surprised to see that many of the presenters are current board teachers.

What is a good teacher? A definition, please.

The rueful situation: what do you do when you don't know what characteristics define a good teacher?

Read about teachers and their experiences. Watch them teach. Observe and analyze.

I read an article in the NYTimes called Building a Better Teacher. My impression is that the teaching techniques are for elementary school-aged children. From the videos I've watched, short clips of teachers of different grades, much of the techniques could work for any class, even for adults. In any group, disruption can slow down the lesson, which in turn reduces the amount of material being learned. Discipline is important at any age, especially when you have groups of people. I learned a few different techniques for keeping people on task.

The investigator of the question that is posed at the beginning of this post is writing a book, namely "Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College" to help teachers learn to be the best in the classroom. The book is relatively inexpensive. In America, my impression is that there is a disconnect between what is taught in the teacher training lessons and what is expected of the teachers in the classroom. This disconnect has worried me in the past. As a teacher, I've taught sports and academic subjects, along with corporate training courses in terminology. Everyone I know thinks that teaching is straightforward, only those who have never been dropped in front of a classroom full of students. With friends who have taught before, the war stories lend themselves well to an evening full of discussion in teaching methodology. 


I'm interested in teaching math, computer studies, and ESL. I have long way to go, but I have to start somewhere. I plan to volunteer at Overland as an ESL instructor: ESL for Sewing and ESL and Word 2007 (business apps). I want to observe more than one teacher before I teach ESL or any other material.