Saturday, August 11, 2012

Authentic What?

If we do great work, the bastards will leave us alone.

Alright, they won't. But when they come for us, they'll look like real schmucks to the whole world! So as I begin prepping for September, here are just a few questions I have about my students' experiences in my class:

1) If we want our students in a professional environment, why are we asking them craft "A Letter To The Editor" or "A Letter Home From ..." in history class? Why not simulate a professional environment assignment, like "Write a memo addressing .." Or "Write out a formal email to ..."?

2) If we want 10th graders to learn geography, why not have them use Excel to create a chart showing data like population of temperature?

3) If we have them create Powerpoint, why aren't the rubrics very tight and reflective of good Powerpoints (few words, reliance on the oral presentation and not the slidesshow, use of advanced animations that would wow an audience in a professional setting)?

4) If we want them in an environment of peer review, why aren't we having them do a homework on a blog and making them grade each other? At least having them peer grade their homework (I need to write about this at a later point in time)

5) When did social studies teachers stop doing formal, in-class debates?

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