Bike to Work! Thursday, May 18

Here is a link for more information.

Peace Camp

Here is a possible local opportunity for your students this summer. Click here for more information

CAHSEE Postponed.

A judge in Oakland struck down California's controversial high school exit exam Monday, issuing a tentative ruling suggesting the test is unfair to some students who are shortchanged by substandard schools.

If finalized, the unexpected ruling would block the state from carrying out its plan to deny diplomas for the first time to tens of thousands of seniors who have been unable to pass the exit exam...

46,768 seniors -- 10.7 percent of the class of 2006 -- had not yet passed the exit exam. Of those students, 61 percent are poor, and 44 percent are English learners.

Walkout

I don't know where to begin in my writing about the current walkouts around immigration issues. Simply, I'm inspired by and proud of the Oakland youth and youth throughout California and the country who are standing up and walking out for an issue. As teachers we can stand behind them. We can also take a stand and invest in the issues that are important to our students, provide historical context, and encourage students to both stand for their rights AND make healthy and intelligent choices.

This month the film Walkout, based on the East LA student walkouts of 1968, has aired on HBO. Although I haven't seen it yet, it seems like a worthwhile resource to explore as a possible way to give historical perspective and demonstrate the organization and leadership that is critical to constructive actions. The website has other resources that would enrich using this film in the classroom (or as an independent assignment). (BTW: I don't have HBO... so if anyone wants to tape this for me, I would really appreciate it.)

On Democracy Now! the film was discussed with the film maker Moctesuma Esparza, Luis Rodriguez, and E. LA high school student Yasmeen Chavez. It can be viewed on-line or downloaded as a podcast at this site or on iTunes.

Arts Education

Most of the posts here are specific to middle and high school teachers, but I couldn’t help myself… You need to see this great short documentary!

KQED recently aired this 9-minute inspiring piece. It is a very positive view of what is possible in Oakland schools. It would be an interesting short film to watch and discuss with middle and high school students.
http://www.kqed.org/.stream/real/tv/productions/spark/artists-orgs/ascend.rm.ram

There is also a companion educator’s guide that is worth looking at. There are many valuable links to arts education (and other) web resources.
http://www.kqed.org/arts/spark/education/lessonplans/401.pdf

Enjoy!

Outdoor opportunities for YOU!

Below is info on scholarships for Outward Bound educators courses. I did this (on the same scholarship) years ago and had a great time. It also challenged me to find ways to apply Outward Bounds expeditionary model to my classroom.

Due to generous local support, Outward Bound Wilderness has scholarships available specifically for educators from the San Francisco Bay Area! As an Expeditionary Learning school in the Bay Area, please spread the word about the following opportunity to your staff. Interested educators are eligible to apply for scholarship assistance for either a 7-day Colorado Backpacking Educators’ Course or the North Cascades Canoeing Educators’ Course. Scholarships cover from partial up to full-tuition and are awarded based on financial need and motivation. The educator courses are structured using experiential education components, in hopes that participants will translate their experiences back into new and effective teaching methods in the classroom. ELOB staff make perfect scholarship candidates given their existing involvement with Outward Bound teaching methods.

If you are interested, contact Laura Barrett, Scholarship Awards Coordinator, 888-837-5204 or lbarrett@outwardbound.org

ALSO...

Bay Area Wilderness Training has great opportunities available for educators who want to get their students into the wilderness. Completion of their training opens access to their extensive free gear library you can use to outfit a whole class!

Blogging Katrina clean-up

My friend Traci Todd is currently volunteering for Habitat for Humanity near New Orleans, helping to tear down the damage of Katrina, paving the way for rebuilding that is still a long way away. If any of you include current events in your curriculum, you might find that her first-person perspective provides an intimacy the media has a hard time delivering. Check out her blog at http://neuborne.blogspot.com/


Here's a couple excerpts:
Each of the houses is marked with an X. In the top V of the X is the date when the house was inspected. In the left part the X's are the initials of either the inspector or the organization for which the inspector works. I don't know what the letters in the right part of the crosses mean, but it's what's in the bottom V that will haunt me for a long time. There, the inspectors recorded the number of dead found in the house.

The pantry is deep. Everything is ruined, of course, but the things in front seem to be relatively in tact. It's when I reach for things in the back that my thumbs go through packets and boxes of I don't know what. Everything back there is rancid, waterlogged, and the smell has heat. I can smell the rot and ruin even through my mask, taste it somehow as I inhale. It's horrifying and makes me gag. The sludgey remains of the food that was stored in this pantry pool at my feet and I keep slipping. The liquid seeps through my gloves--I really have no idea what I'm touching, except that whatever it was was once dry and now it's very, very wet.

BAWP on-line teacher/writer 'zine

Bay Area Writing Project has an on-line 'zine, Digital Paper! Click here to check it out.