Viva Pinata

Okay, total geek moment here. If you're keeping score...I'm a level 32 in Viva Pinata, the ultimate children's game for the box360 (yes, I know my age) but with my kids sitting next me, that's pretty much what we did all weekend. We even got horses!

Long live our garden! :)
Mr. B

A Picture and a Shake Please...

So last weekend I take my daughter to the school because we spent some father and daughter time in Yakima, got some saltwater fish, and put them in the tank. She wanted to see the damage from the fire so we walked outside. She stood there and looked as I was behind her and I thought..."This would make a great picture."

So I went inside, got the digital cam, and told her to go out further into the debris-strewn area. She wasn't thrilled about it 'cause she said it "freaked her out." But I was able to get her out there and snapped it. I made a poster of it and added it to the collection at school. I just didn't realize how powerful it was and as our custodian Terry noted: "It's who we are."

You know what they say about pictures...they're worth...how many words?


Well, with the fire came a hard look at schedules and how we can better serve students. I think we've made a good start to getting more strategic about helping kids that really need it. We'll see how well it works once we get everything hammered out.

Later.

Mr. B

What the research says about homework

So I finished the book, THE CASE AGAINST HOMEWORK. This is an interesting read. There's some research and there's a lot of testimonials concerning homework at all grade levels.
"ACCORDING to a 2001 review of more than 120 studies of homework and its effects by Professor Harris Cooper of Duke University, the country's leading homework researcher, and his updated 2006 review of an additional sixty studies, there is very little correlation between the amount of homework and achievement in elementary school and only a moderate correlation in middle school."

We'll have to talk more about this at a staff meeting, eh?

The Washington Post's article on this was interesting. Click here if you are interested.

If you'd like to read the book, you can check it out from my office.

Thanks!
Mr. Bowman

Normal...what is normal?

No doubt, it's good to be back at school and to see the warm and friendly faces of students =). But oh how we miss the gym and commons area. I got a chance to meet with the architects a couple of days ago and am encouraged that we'll be able to do some good things to help the school in this rebuild.

The problem, of course, is time. We need time to build and the meantime, have to jam everyone everywhere for a while. The flexibility everyone has exhibited has been wonderful.

So, we wait patiently.

Did I mention, patiently? (hehehe)

Mr. Bowman

Homework, homework, homework

So I'm reading two really great educational books. The first, OUR SCHOOL: THE INSPIRING STORY OF TWO TEACHERS, ONE BIG IDEA, AND THE SCHOOL THAT BEAT THE ODDS and THE CASE AGAINST HOMEWORK. Both really interesting books.

OUR SCHOOL deals with a charter school and how it is taking the hardest at-risk kids and turning them into responsible young adults by having high expectations, demanding hard work, and using GANAS (desire) to inspire. This charter high school gives quite a lot of homework.

And then I read, THE CASE AGAINST HOMEWORK, which is full of research papers and studies that show (quite conclusively) that homework at younger grades (elementary and middle) is virtually useless. Yes, useless. Now, if you are like I was when I read the preface and introduction, I thought..."Come on . . . useless?" But the book makes some very strong points and I have to admit, I'm actually thinking about homework practices and what's best. I haven't finished the book yet and certainly take it with a grain of salt but it's interesting...

Besides that, it was good to have some time to read and relax this weekend. I will plug an XBOX game however that is absolutely fun for the whole family. It's called Viva Pinada. I'm warning you...it's a time killer, man! Your kids will love it!

I'm out...

Mr. Bowman

A welcomed return

Well, it was crowded at times in the halls, but all in all, it was a great day to have students back at Outlook. Had you asked me on December 17th if it were possible that we would have students back in the building by Jan. 3, I would've seriously doubted you. But here we are and bingo, we have students. Pretty awesome.
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Again, thanks to the hard work of so many people in making this happen. This is a great community.