Minecraft Creativity

                      Minecraft and Creativity -- the wonder of the game.

               Maybe I never quite grew up. I like Minecraft. Laugh. Maybe I am a dwarf -- I love to dig. Maybe I am living out childhood fantasies about being an architect. I love to build. Maybe I am a geek and a nerd and never quite finished that game of Dungeons and Dragons -- I like killing skeletons with my bow and arrows from the castle walls. But that is not the only reason that I like Minecraft. I like Minecraft because it inspires me and mine, and others around me to create... to create not only in the virtual world of Minecraft itself but OUTSIDE in the real world. People are drawing and crafting, quilting and baking... and I am not talking about the big companies that sell foam swords to kids. I am talking about folks like you and me and our children. It is truly amazing what folks have come up with... and in order to highlight those wonderful creations, I created a facebook page. I would love it if folks came and took a look at some of what people are doing... And if you have something that you or your children have done, please feel free to share! :)

Here is the link: Minecraft Creativity Facebook Page

                       

A Free Thanksgiving Unit Study

A Free Thanksgiving Unit Study using a Charlotte Mason approach

Now I know, at this time of year, you can find these ALL over the internet. Chances are, you have already got at least one.  But when I went looking, the ones I found didn't quite satisfy me. You see, my sons are nine and twelve, both are 'demanding' (to say the least!) when it comes to educational materials and keeping them interested and excited requires not sticking with old and constantly rehashed materials.

So... here is what I have put together. If you find it useful, please let me know :) 

1) We begin by filling out this little KWL diagram... I am always surprised at what my children know. They seem to gather information out of the air...

2) Everyone begins studying Thanksgiving with the Indians and the Pilgrims but when did it actually become an 'American' holiday? --Though George Washington did proclaim November 26 'a day of public thanksgiving and prayer', this did not lead to a national holiday.  It was President Abraham Lincoln who established the holiday on the final Thursday of the month of November as an official holiday on October 3rd, 1863.(This was changed to the second to last Thursday in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt -- who caused quite an uproar when he did so. See Here for that story.)  Here is a link to the speech that he made. As we follow the Charlotte Mason method, my sons and I will be reading and learning this, then using it for recitation, dictation, and copywork. ( I have included copywork for both Lincoln's speech and the Giving Thanks prayer in this Dropbox folder collection.)

3) For Handicrafts I found the following SITE which has some wonderful videos including how to make wreaths, scarecrows, and cards. It also has Thanksgiving recipes if, like mine, your children plan to help cook Thanksgiving day dinner.

4) And speaking of Thanksgiving recipes -- HERE is the site where we are finding some of our favorites. The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond has some lovely recipes and my sons are mad about cooking. Cooking is where we get a lot of our math done -- but it also a place to learn how to work cooperatively, as a team. We add Chemistry to our cooking by using the American Chemical Website's Thanksgiving Food and Chemistry

5) For grammar fun, I found the following SITE where kids can create a 'wacky Thanksgiving story' with the various parts of speech.

6) And for those of you with kids into the 'ick' factor -- HERE is a little science to spice up your Thanksgiving... A Buggy Thanksgiving. (Wink!)

7) Of course, history is incorporated throughout this study, but if you want to make this even more 'authentic' for your children, here is a SITE where they can learn the 'jargon' of the Pilgrims. Wouldn't it be fun to speak a little differently on Thanksgiving Day?

8) And, if you want to include truly beautiful Native American element in your Thanksgiving celebration, I recommend these two items:
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Find the classroom guide that accompanies this truly amazing poem/prayer HERE

HERE is another lesson plan for the book from Reading Rainbow.

HERE is the prayer/poem if you cannot get ahold of the book.

HERE is a link to the Scholastic Video of the book.

HERE is a biography of the author along with some interesting information about his tribe. Chief Jake Swamp was a member of the Haudenosaunee Nations, known to most people as the Mohawk Indians. For more on this group of people, look HERE.

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HERE is the author's website. Joseph Bruchac, a member of the Abenaki Tribe (Upper N.Y.), is one of the most prolific authors of Native American literature today.

HERE is a lesson plan related specifically to his 'Circle of Thanks'

HERE is a bibliography of materials on Native American Thanksgivings.

9) And finally, if you feel you need to cover the more traditional Thanksgiving materials, look HERE for information on the 1621 celebration, approached from the perspective of 'becoming an historian'.

So... with more than enough to fill the days between now and Thanksgiving day itself, I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and friends.

Teaching with Minecraft - Literature explorations

Teaching with Minecraft - Literature Reflections

In my previous post, I suggested the Minecraft could be used to encourage reluctant writers -- utilizing the creation of an  'Adventure Map'  as the 'hook'. In this post, I am going to continue that theme but in a slightly different direction. Still using the device of the 'Adventure Map' and the student's creation of his/her own personal map, I am going to explore a different, though related area of language arts -- that of literature and reading comprehension.

I know that many teachers and parents are interested and concerned with the materials their students read. They want to be able to encourage and assess the quality and comprehension of the materials that their students are imbibing.  I found the following rubric for assessing reading comprehension here:   As I see it, this is yet another place where Minecraft -- and more particularly -- the Adventure Map -- can be of use

(I have also created my own rough rubric which can be foundhere at Dropbox. I will be tweaking it as I use it, of course and will update it as I go. If you do not use Dropbox but would like a copy of the rubric, please let me know.)

How can Adventure Maps be used as a Reading Comprehension assessment tool? Let me provide an example:

Currently my sons and I are reading the next in the 'Lost Hero' series by Rick Riordan. Anyone who follows Riordan knows of the Percy Jackson series -- Greek Demigods in the modern world battling to protect this world against the forces of Evil. In the second part of the series, Riordan introduces Roman Demigods who are attempting a similar feat -- and who have an historical antipathy to their Greek counterparts that must be overcome if success is to be achieved. Each book in the series is wonderfully full of descriptions -- descriptions of the places that the Demigods travel and the challenges that they face.  It occurred to me today, as we were reading the most recent book, 'The House of Hades', that the books were chock full of material for Adventure maps. I ran the idea past my eldest son... He agreed, though, he pointed out to me, that 'You'd have to really know the book and pay close attention to what you were doing when you created the map because people who liked the books and who played your map would be real quick to notice mistakes!'  -- AHA!  Eureka!  If a student has read and paid attention to the details of the book they will be able to reproduce that knowledge in the creation of an exacting Adventure map... one which they will be willing to share with a wide audience. 

To be truly successful at creating an adventure map from a beloved book, a map maker would have to do two things (1) include specific details from the book being careful not use them casually or out of order/ out of place (2)create options for the player(s) that allow for interactions with the map while moving them toward the conclusion. To be able to achieve both of these goals requires a strong grasp of the story and its basic elements. The student may need to return to book over and over again, to refresh, relearn, re-investigate the material.

Once the student is fully engaged in the map creation process, the teacher could then go back through the writing process that the student has to follow and ask questions:  Why is this here? What does that do? Why are you using Redstone here? What is the lava for? Are you spawning mobs? Why? Why not? Is this set on survival? Is it set in the Nether? 

These questions do require a certain knowledge/vocabulary of the game but that knowledge is one that the students will be more than happy to help you acquire. One of the best parts of teaching with Minecraft lies in the fact that because your students have a chance to teach you, they see you as engaged in their learning, they see you as a partner and are more willing to work toward a shared goal. The challenges that you pose them become a positive goal rather than something negative.

At the moment, I am writing up my own list of Literature related Minecraft map challenges. I shall run them by my sons, to see which ones interest them. They will, no doubt, surprise me. When we have something solidly underway, I will return and post pictures. Meanwhile, I, myself, am going to attempt to build a Hobbit town. Why? Well, in all honesty, because I want to build a REAL set of small hobbit houses out in the back woods of my home and building them in Minecraft seems to me a good first step...

Teaching with Minecraft - Creative Writing

                Teaching with Minecraft -- Creative writing

How many people have children who BURST with ideas but who fight bitterly at the thought of writing those ideas down? Maybe you are one of those people --- you have ideas but when you are faced with a blank page, be it paper or a computer screen, you find yourself panicking. It is very difficult, then, to encourage your children to do what you yourself cannot.

But children who are stymied at the thought of writing down their ideas can be energized to do so when those ideas are connected and developed through the mechanism of Minecraft. 

One of the most 'exciting' aspects of Minecraft for many players is the possibility of creating their own personal 'adventure' map. An 
 'adventure map' is similar to a Minecraft World but more closely, to more clearly defined. It is a world with a story to it, a world through which the player moves with purpose.  

Now HERE is where the creative writing part comes in. This link will take you to directions for creating an adventure map. As you see, the directions are quite clear -- you must WRITE out the back story. And then you must DRAW out the map so that you have a clear idea of what you are going to build in Minecraft. 

Once you have built your Map and had it tested by friends, worked through the bugs that always seem to show up, you are ready to publish your map on Planet Minecraft.

Teaching with Minecraft -- Who is Herobrine? An Answer and a challenge.

At some point in your Minecraft journey, you will hear your children referring, in hushed (or shouted) voices to a character named 'Herobrine' -- they may be chasing him (They often are) or debating his existence but you will find that every child has a strong opinion on this particular topic.

The problem arises though as to WHO or WHAT Herobrine really is -- and that short answer is: A Joke that went viral -- a joke that grew into a myth. Look HERE for a fuller explanation. Another, more graceful and story-like version can be found HERE.  

What interests me about Herobrine as an educator is the way in which the story evolved -- from joke into story to legend, from legend to myth.  And the myth continues to grow as children and teens tell other children/teens their stories about Herobrine. Chilren (mine, at least) play games involving Herobrine. (There is even a Herobrine plugin called Herobrine Unleashed that one can install if one REALLY wants to have Herobrine on one's game.) and the stories grow. So how, then, to turn this mushrooming tale into a tool for education?

So here is a thought -- Herobrine was a creepy pasta story started as joke. Notch, in an attempt to redirect the stories, has said, " there's never been any such thing as Herobrine, and that I don't have any dead brothers, and that letting too many animals die in lava is a fool proof way to summon him but that you don't need to be afraid of him. He only means well, he's looking out for you, trying to warn you of the dangers you can't see."

Herobrine, a ghost/demon, wears the Steve skin but has white glowing eyes.  So what if children were asked to create an answer to Herobrine? A hero to match Herobrine? Herobrine titillates. He frightens. He takes away control from players by sneaking in and leaving messages and signs. He is a myth because he vanishes as quickly as he appears. When children create a hero, they take back a measure of control. Herobrine might still exist but so does the Hero. Children already have their own character -- using character sheets, they can draw out the specifics of their Hero, listing their tools, their weapons, their armor. And they can write stories about the adventures that their Minecraft character has in whatever world he/she inhabits.

Create your own myths and legends

Myth Machine

Collection of Myth and Legend links

And if, at some later point, the myth and legends that your child writes grow sufficiently large and lengthy enough, your child can publish his/her book at: http://www.scribblitt.com/

I think we will work on that -- and in a later post, I will share some of what we create. Wish us luck.

Michaelmas Term -- September through Christmas

I was grieving a bit, this morning -- after a sunny long weekend, I awoke to a grey and rainy school day... my sons also woke grey and rainy. It is that time of year, here in the Pacific Northwest. Children who attend public or private schools are returning to them. And home schools (like ours) are also starting up.

In an attempt to brighten up our darkening skies, I thought I would follow the British pattern -- we would think of this as the 'Michaelmas Term' -- the term that extends from September to Christmas. So I started looking for something artistic to illustrate... 

"Brave and true will I be,

Each good deed sets me free,

Each kind word makes me strong.

I will fight for the right!

I will conquer the wrong!

Sword of Michael brightly gleaming,

Down to earth its light is streaming,

May we see its shining rays, 

In the Winter's darkest days."

And I found this verse on a lovely Squidoo site here which offers all sorts of ideas for celebrating the season.

I also found another popular Waldorf verse which I thought might appeal to my two boys;

Brave Saint Michael is my guide

As free and fearless forth I ride

With courage of Saint George of old

I dare to fight fierce dragons bold.

Mind, we are not Catholic but I have always liked the Archangel Michael and though the story of George and the dragon bothers me (I tend to sympathize with the dragon), there are versions of it that I do like...

                                                          

  So I think the boys and I will read that book for our George story... and maybe illustrate it. It is a much gentler version. Though Bruno Bettleheim

   (The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales ) would surely disagree with my choice.

Still, it is apple picking, sauce making, leaf chasing season -- so it can't be all bad, can it? And maybe a dragon will blow across the sky and spark a light in my children's eyes and we will see a bit of blue sky and sunlight to chase in  the waning of the year. One can always hope. One can always hope.

Teaching with Minecraft -- For the Gifted, for Aspergers, for Autism, and for the Parents who wonder if Minecraft is actually useful

Today I am collecting stories and links relating to the use of Minecraft in educating those of us whom one of my friends (who self identifies) calls 'quirky'-- these include kids on 'the spectrum' -- aspergers, autism, gifted kids (who do, in fact, fall under the umbrella of  'special ed' kids). Kids with Add and ADHD are a whole 'nother category and OH! is there a debate of over that! Regardless, these kids find a common ground in Minecraft as the following articles demonstrate.  Parents and teachers can use this ground to direct and educate their students'interests.

1)How Minecraft taught my Nine year old son with Aspergers to Read and Write

2) Here is a site aimed at helping kids with Aspergers in particular through the development of IT skils

3) Here is a server that claims to be for Autistic and Asperger folks -- haven't vetted it, so cannot speak to it.

4) Here is another server dedicated to kids on the Autism spectrum.

5) Here is an article that turns the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder on its head.

6) Journey in a Gifted Classroom -- for Minecraft with Gifted kids

7) Why Minecraft is great for Gifted Kids

8)Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs are playing Minecraft today

9) Lesson plans for Gifted Kids Minecraft

Happy Crafting!

Teaching with Minecraft -- Part Five, safe places to play and learn

This post is a little different. I know that all parents are concerned with safety these days, both out in the real world and here, in the virtual world. So, while searching for lesson plans and blogs, I found myself encountering some interesting sites -- sites aimed specifically at that issue. I am listing them here and intend to check them out. I will say, up front, that I have not done so yet.

1)Massively Minecraft  -- this is the first place that I have encountered. I have registered for it. It is a whitelisted server and claims to be a 'safe place for kids and parents'.  I found the following review of it: 

"There are definitely kid-safe public and semi-public Minecraft servers (called “whitelisted” servers because would-be players have to apply to join). One I know well is the Australia-based Massively @ Jokaydia (formerly Massively Minecraft). With 500 registered users worldwide, it’s run by educators who call it a Minecraft Guild for parents as well as kids (aged 4-16). Parents are welcome to participate, and everybody learns. See the citizenship and social- and media-literacy skills represented in this list of 10 kinds of learning that this server aims to help players develop in Minecraft). But this is informal learning for parents and young people (“no teaching or lessons allowed in the game”). It’s also free (donations “gratefully accepted”), but there’s an application that people fill out to join" Net Family News

2) For those who have children interested in playing other servers, here is a list of white list servers -- whitelist servers are those for which you have to apply.  Applicants are vetted and approved. There are usually rules by which players are expected to abide -- no griefing being primary. As always, parental oversight is advisedWhitelist Minecraft Servers

3) Here is an article listing several family friendly Minecraft servers.

4) Minecraft and Internet Safety

5) Interncraften

Happy Crafting!!

Teaching with Minecraft - Part Four, Teaching Math

And I am back -- Teaching with Minecraft and this time I want to look at teaching math with Minecraft. I had mentioned that one could teach ratios and proportions with Minecraft -- asking students to create 'to scale' buildings when they are creating their historical replicas. But there are other applications, surely, after all, Minecraft uses blocks -- much the way that Singapore, Math-U-See and Miquon maths do. So I went hunting and the list below is the fruit of my mining. I hope that you will find it useful:

1) This first is a You-tube video: Maths in Minecraft (Area, Perimeter, Volume)

This particular You-tube video comes from a blogger who has created a world called 'Mathlandia'.  He writes a Minecraft Educational blog:

2) Minecraft Elfie

3) A similar project for teaching perimeter and area uses both legos and minecraft can be found Here (Actually I found this amusing as my own children came up with this particular lesson all on their own one rainy day when the power went out. They created their Minecraft world in legos and when the power came back up, they took their careful lego constructions to the computer and 'rebuilt' them, brick by brick into Minecraft'...)

4)Another Area and Perimeter lesson plan

5)General ideas for Minecraft blocks math

6)Minecraft Maths

7)Minecraft and Math - STEM  -- again, a list of suggested uses for Minecraft in math applications

8)MInecraft in Education -- More than just Maths, of course

9)Examples of Minecraft Math Projects

10) Minecraft Math Youtube -- calculus garden

11)Scrib: minecraft-problem-posing-subtraction-core-questions

      12)Scrib: Minecraft-Problem-Posing-Subtraction-Teacher-Copy -- please note, there is a fee to download from Scrib.

13)Minecraft Math

(And in an update to the previous 'Teaching with Minecraft' post, on programming, I found the following link: SriptCraftJC which will allow simple Minecraft programming in JavaScript)

Actually, I had a very exciting idea for some lesson plans of my own while reading through these articles. I  am going to work them up and try them out and if they pass muster, I will post them as well. In the mean while.... Happy crafting!

Teaching with Minecraft -- Minecraft Glogs

Teaching With Minecraft -- Minecraft Glogs

I am an inveterate digger -- constantly mining for new ways of collecting information and in my search I discovered 'glogging'-- Visual blogs of links to other sites. Below, then, is a list of the Minecraft Glogs that I have begun to create. (As you can imagine, there are many, many, MANY You-tube videos on HOW to do Minecraft. The process of sifting through them is a slow and painful one. Creating Glogs, therefore, takes a certain amount of time. Please, bear with me!)

1) Minecraft Tutorials for the PC

2)Minecraft Tutorials for the Xbox

I should add, these Glogs are aimed primarily at teaching people how to DO Minecraft and not so much at teaching WITH Minecraft. My purpose in including them in this series of posts is that, if you intend to teach with a tool, it does actually help to play around with the tool... And besides (grin) I am enough of a geek to enjoy the game for its own sake!

Happy Crafting all. I shall return to providing you with truly 'Educational' links in my next posting.

Teaching with Minecraft -- Part Three

You might think, at my advanced age, that I would be immune to surprise -- I have, after all, encountered IRA gunmen during a bank robbery in Dublin, fallen off a ticketing counter in Hong Kong, been swept into a sewer during a hurricaine in Taiwan, almost had my car washed off a coast road on Oahu during another hurricaine, run the hills of Aberystwyth in Wales... but still, I find myself wide eyed with wonder at the many amazing things that fill this world -- and one of the most awe inspiring of these for me (given my geekish tendencies!) is the depth and breadth of the internet. The sheer volume of information -- both good and bad -- that can be found on the web is astonishing. And so, I come to you with yet more information on teaching with Minecraft... Today's post will focus on teaching computer programming since that is my own personal focus today:

1)How to Program a Minecraft Plugin  -- first up, from our friends at Planet Minecraft is the following blog post.

2)Young Person's Guide to Programming Minecraft  -- Now this particular approach is for those who want to dive in and get started. It is not a ground up, make sure you know the details sort of teaching. That said, some folks do prefer this.      

       

      a) Click HERE to get ScriptCraft 

3) JAVA Programming Tutorial - 1 - Installing the JDK The New Boston Java tutorials on Youtube are the ones recommended by KHAN academy's coding folks. There are other people on Youtube who specifically coffer Java programming for Minecraft such as:

   

      a)How to make your own Minecraft Plugin and Learn JAVA the easy way

      b)Simple JAVA plugin tutorial Episode 1

      c)Java | How to make a Minecraft 1.6.2 Bukkit Server Plugin | Part 1

      d)Learn to program via Minecraft and other games

4) For those who want a more basic JAVA course, here is a free Learn Java site

5) And, if you already know something about programming, here is a free JavaScript for Beginners site

As this is the Internet, there are sure to be many, many more adventures to come! Happy daze!

Teaching with Minecraft -- Part Two

Teaching with Minecraft -- Part Two

And so the listing continues:

Here are more links for you to follow --

1) This first is an article -- we ourselves have worked on building Shakespeare's Globe in Minecraft.(It is a challenging project and best done over a term and as a group project.)  I also like the periodic table of the elements assignment -- but then, I am a science and math nerd and am married to a scientist so, smile, you can take that with a pinch of salt!: http://blog.k12.com/educational-technology-and-tools/transforming-way-we-learn-why-minecraft-amazing-learning-tool#.UhtgURtONs0

2) Speaking specifically to the question of MinecraftEDU -- here is an article from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/minecraft-in-classroom-andrew-miller  -- please note the comment about using Minecraft to teach ration and proportion -- it is on often overlooked by teachers but one that Minecraft does very well. The use of blocks can be mimiced by the use of 1 block legos or by other 'real' world bricks.

3)Betcha never thought of this as an application in Minecraft: http://gettingsmart.com/2013/01/how-minecraft-is-teaching-a-generation-about-teamwork-the-environment/ -- Environmental education and scarce resources as well as cooperative learning! In survival mode, Minecraft is a game par excellence for these skills AND, if you have kids who are 'HUNGER GAMES' fans, there are MODS ( Go here) which will allow your students to play the games -- which you can then turn into discussions about the book/movie/game. There is A LOT of material there, believe me.

4) The following is an article by a student whose instructor used MinecraftEdu -- I include it so that you can see what is being done and how students are reacting: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shajed-ahmed/minecraft-computer-game_b_3579651.html

5)http://teachingwithminecraftedu.blogspot.com/ -- a Minecraft teaching blog

6)http://www.examiner.com/article/minecraft-homeschool-incredible-educational-minecraft-inspiration-from-all-over -- this is another collection of weblinks to Minecraft teaching ideas. Yippee!!! Rabbit trails!

7)https://blogs.oracle.com/arungupta/entry/introducing_kids_to_java_programming  -- and this, of course, was my FIRST teaching idea, using Minecraft to introduce and encourage the learning of programming skills... the kids learn anyway but not in an organized manner. Here is a more directed suggestion.

Now I am off to get more coffee. Have fun until next we meet.

Teaching with Minecraft -- A Blog list, Part One

Teaching with Minecraft -- A blog list, part one.

Per a request from friends who are interested in learning more about teaching children with that wonderful but terrible game, Minecraft, I have begun to create the following list of blogs. These are blogs that I have found which are devoted to the teaching of various school subjects and which use Minecraft as a tool for doing so. If you, dear reader, have any blogs that you think should be added to this list, please, feel free to let me know -- I will be more than happy to update this list. It is most definitely a work in progress.

1) http://minecraftteacher.tumblr.com/
(borrowed from his blog page)

AboutThe Minecraft Teacher

My name is Joel Levin. I am a computer teacher at a private school in New York City. This blog chronicles my foray into usingMinecraft in the classroom. The results were far from expected. 

I am also the co-owner of TeacherGaming LLC, creators of MinecraftEdu the official version of Minecraft designed for teachers and students. 

Follow me on Twitter @MinecraftTeachr

E-mail me at joel@minecraftteacher.net

Watch my videos on YouTube

2)http://gamingedus.org/

(borrowed from their page)

This wiki is a storehouse of resources, ideas and fun stuff for a small group of educators using video games with their students.

Currently, our goal is to introduce educators to the video game Minecraft and help them learn how to use  the game with their students.

We run two Minecraft servers: a Professional Play server for teachers to learn Minecraft and the Multi-School Server, for teachers to play Minecraft with their students and other schools around the world.

We are actively seeking new members for both servers. Interested? Read on and see how you can join in the fun and learning!

3)http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/math-physic-languages-minecraft-is-the-teachers-ultimate-multi-tool/

A little bit of reassurance on the Homeschool Path

Last week, my sons and I and some friends went to visit a homestead museum. On that Pioneer Farm Park, was the one room school house, complete with posted school rules:

The children were fascinated by the desks and the school, less so by the rules -- which was made clear by the fact that, when we returned home, the two youngers immediately set to work writing their own set of school rules. Interesting then, to see the following infographic which is currently making the rounds of all the various media.

Source: TopMastersInEducation.com
Of course, we don't use the homestead school rules -- laugh. Our version of rules are closer to our children's. But it is reassuring to know that what we are doing, homeschooling, is not so very odd and that it has a history and a future of success. Sometimes it is not so easy to see the forest for the trees.

High School Prep Genius -- A review

High School Prep Genius

A Review

Is it ever too early to begin thinking about the future? Well, maybe... But my eldest is now twelve and my youngest, nine, is talking about getting a Doctorate in Astronomy so that he can work for N.A.S.A. when he turns eighteen, so maybe, in my case, it is not too early to start thinking about college planning...

With that in mind, I have been reading and researching on the issue of designing a course of High school study aimed at preparing a student for success in college. One of the books I read was the book that I am reviewing in this post: High School Prep Genius: An Academic Guide to Excellence by Jean and Judah Burk

Before I dive into my review, I will offer a little background on myself:  I am the product of an academic family: my father is a Sinologist (a specialist in Chinese history -- in his case, he is the world's leading specialist in Sung Dynasty Law),  my mother is a Rehabilitation Nurse Specialist. Both of them taught at University. My brothers and I grew up in and around college and University campuses. Libraries were my refuge of choice and my father 'after schooled' us long before that term came into general use. It should come as no surprise then, that I myself attended college, received multiple degrees, and went on to teach both at intermediate school and at University level. (My specialty was History, for those who are interested.) Both of my brothers also attended University and both eventually went on to get higher degrees.

Returning to the main subject of this post -- the review of the book 'High School Prep Genius: An Academic Guide to Excellence' and its utility in helping Parents design a course of study for their students who may wish to attend college:  I will begin by considering the strengths I saw in the text and then discuss what might be improved.

[For purposes of brevity, I will henceforth refer to the text as HSPG -- I do hope that will be acceptable to the reader?]

HSPG is laid out with a great deal of thought. Rather than simply diving into academics, the Introduction suggests that the student create an organizational notebook -- a technique that many adults are just beginning to learn to use and one that is beneficial in many areas of life. It then moves on through the process of planning out the pre-high and High school years. Included in this planning is financial planning. I was particularly impressed by the fact that the authors spoke to both the students AND to the parents. And they do this through out the book. This is one of the main features of the book that most delighted me -- the interplay of parent and student discussions and homework.

Following the introduction, the first main section of the book is focused upon personal development. This, too, is a lovely surprise. Many parents presume that academics are the key to college acceptance and success. This, however, is more often than not, not the case.  Students who succeed are students who have a strong base -- who have a solid sense of themselves and who have a good support system. Students who have never developed coping skills, who do not have a support network can, of course, survive and even prosper in college but they often spend the first years of their academic life playing catch-up. HSPG suggests that students focus on developing these items prior to college so as to have them in place when they are needed.

The next section of the book turns to a discussion of academics -- tests, grades, studying etc. One of the points that this section makes is that some instructors include attendance in their grading. I am aware that some people consider this inappropriate, however, one might consider that an instructor cannot accurately assess a student's personal knowledge of material without interaction with the student. Moreover, if class participation is a portion of the grade -- and in many cases it is, absence automatically results in a mark down. Exceptions occur, of course, but that is between the student and the instructor. And attending class regularly is a mark of personal responsibility and maturity.

The last section discusses choosing the right school, taking entrance exams, paying for school and housing options. Much of what is said in this section makes good basic sense and there are some useful forms here. I liked how the authors of HSPG divided the scholarships into pros and cons/dos and don'ts. 

Also very useful are the Appendices where the authors have included 'How to build High school Transcripts', Books to get you started, Relaxation techniques, and Admissions terminology.

All that said, I do have one major problem and a few minor quibbles with this book -- the latter come both from my experience as a student and as an instructor at University: 

The major issue that I had with the book was the lack of an index. It would have been very useful for me if I had been able to go to the back of the book and been able to search for topics by keyword. That lack made using the book extremely frustrating on occasion.

Now, as regards the minor quibbles: Although the authors do mention the importance of the PSAT as regards to its relationship to scholarships, they don't do so until the end of the book. In this, they are not alone. Many Parents and children in the Public School System are unaware of the actual importance and value of the PSATs and regard it as simply a 'practice' test for the SAT.  For this reason, few children are actively prepared for the test.

As regards the option of not attending college immediately after highschool, the authors warn that putting it off is often not optimal-- that students often forget what they had learned and that this loss of knowledge is reflected when they take the placement test. This may be true. On the other hand, many students, fresh from highschool are not yet ready for college. They need time off. Working for a year, learning the value of school, of money, is often of great benefit to these students. As an instructor, I have seen how much more focused students are when they come in, having worked for their own money, and often paying for their own college. This is something that parents need to be willing to consider and to discuss with their students.

Another point upon which the authors comment  is that, at the larger Universities, one is less likely to know one's professors than at the smaller colleges. On the face of this, the statement is correct. A professor at a large University is less likely to seek out individual students -- it is up to the student to seek out the Professor. On the other hand, Professors keep office hours for just that purpose. And, in the time that I taught -- and I taught at several large institutions as well as several smaller ones -- I was also available to my students after lectures, during lunch hours and at other times during the day. Students would find me at the library or at the coffee shop. Laugh -- in fact, I had quite a few who would chase me down the mall to talk! It is not, therefore, an impossibility to get to know your professors. It is more a matter of your personality and theirs. And most people, not just professors, are interested in talking with people who are interested in the same subjects.

The authors touch briefly -- and I commend them for this -- on the issues of depression and suicide. I have seen too many students face these issues. They mention symptoms and that most schools have counselors but not much more. I am not entirely sure why this is. There are general resources available to students regardless of which institution they decide to attend that might have been included. It may be that those sources are so subject to change that the decision was made to leave them out. The unfortunate fact is that in most cases students have to seek out those resources - and may not be aware of them or, if deep in depression, may not have the energy to do so. The good news is that, in most cases, they CAN talk to their faculty -- and that includes individuals NOT mentioned by the authors --  students can speak to the graduate students who are used at University level as Teaching Assistants. Most TAs (as they are called) have a good deal of knowledge about what it is like being a student under pressure -- and many of them are more knowledgable about student services than are the higher level faculty. Students should never be too shy to approach these individuals.

My final quibble is purely aesthetic: The book itself is grey. The cover is grey. And, of course, the text is all black and white.  Prior to becoming an Historian, I trained as an artist, and one of my faculty specialized in the effect of color on the human psyche. (Yes, there really is such a speciality!) Grey is a calming, deadening, soothing color but not one designed to excite interest or curiosity. It is not one designed to inspire trust or faith in the contents. I would suggest that, for later editions of this book, the authors might consider a cover redesign.

In summation, I think that the book, High School Prep Genius is a useful addition to the library of anyone who has a child or children considering college. It would be most useful for parents whose  children are at or about to enter seventh grade or older. The authors actually encourage parents to begin preparation in the Middle School years. If you are a parent with a gift child, or one who may be participating in a Running Start program, you may also wish to consider reading and purchasing the book.

*While I did receive a reader's copy of this book for review, I do not receive any proceeds from the sale of this book. My comments and opinions are entirely my own and are unaffected by any monetary remuneration.

Birth of an Activist?

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” 

― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Jason was angry today -- very, very angry, almost incoherent with anger. After getting him by himself, I asked him what had made him so incredibly angry. To my surprise, his list of triggers was not made up of personal injuries but was instead centered around one basic core grievance: He felt helpless in the face of all the problems in the world. More particularly, he saw his friends and family hurting under various inequities and was hurting at his inability to do anything to make things better.

I looked into his sad face.

I listened to his hurting voice.

I heard his loving heart.

And I asked: Of all the things that bother you, which is most important?

Oops.

I think I may have started him on the road to Activism.

He told me that he was upset about the issue of businesses sending work AWAY from our state to right to work states -- about people losing jobs because businesses were more concerned about their bottom lines than about the people who worked for them -- about the deliberate attempts to destroy unions,  and keeping people at limited hours so that they didn't qualify for benefits. 

And then he said: But I am just a kid -- there is nothing I can do about these things.

And I said: You are wrong.

You can become educated about the issue -- you can read up on it, you can talk to people who are involved. And when you have become educated in ALL sides of the issue, you can write, you can speak, you can STAND for something.

His eyes lit up.

His anger vanished.

He jumped to his feet.

"NOW!" he shouted, "Let's start NOW!"

"Where do you want to start?" I asked.

"I need a notebook and lots of pens." He told me, "I need to write EVERYTHING I learn down."

"Then we need to go to the library. I need to talk to the Reference Librarian."

We have his notebook. (It is ENORMOUS -- 'because I am going to keep a timeline of the history of this thing' he tells me.) He has A LOT of pens.

We are going to the library today -- inbetween Tae Kwon Do lessons.

Sigh. What have I done?

Building: From Art to Architecture, from beginnings to Civiilization

I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me.
Maya Lin 

                     Where does the impulse to build begin?                                               

What drives us to create a Civilization and what would we include?

What is Art?

And what makes Art into Architecture?