My Professional Development Day

Last Friday was a day off from school for the students and a day devoted to professional development for the teachers. In other words, it was a day devoted to making ourselves better teachers.

I was given permission to craft my own professional development day and I chose to sit in on two classrooms in other cities. I chose a 7th grade math class in Lawrence and a 7th grade science class in Haverhill - both public schools.

It was an interesting experience. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a public school and I didn’t realize how accustomed to The Hellenic I had become until I walked into The Arlington School in Lawrence and was greeted by a police officer. I was a little jarred by the scale of the operation. They have nearly 600 students in the middle school and more in the elementary part of the building. 

The classes I observed at The Arlington School were much larger and, out of necessity, much more disciplined. 

The classroom is on the third floor and the windows are frosted to reduce distractions. The students have assigned seats. They are expected to come to class completely prepared to work. 

There were no bathroom breaks, no ready supply of pencils, no trips upstairs to get homework or books. They came in, started working on the problem on the board and worked until the very last moment of the class time. 

There is precious little small talk between students once the teacher begins the class. When they went over problems, there was no shouting out the answers - instead, they raised their hands and said in a normal tone and volume, “I disagree."

Each Friday, the math classes focus on problems the student’s will see on the MCAS tests. They do example problems in the same format that they will find on the test. 

There is a heavy emphasis on the tests and the student's performance on them. The school’s overall performance numbers are painted on the wall near the front door and are posted in the classroom. They are very serious about improving proficiency as measured by the standardized tests.

It’s a very different experience from The Hellenic to be sure and it was well worth my time to see a different teacher and classroom in action. 

It Just Blows My Mind

“A single speck of dust is half way in size between an atom and the Earth.”

This statement has been going around the internet recently and I felt compelled to check it out.

Guess what? It’s true – basically.

To be closer to the truth, you’d have to say “A single speck of dust is half way in size between a subatomic particle and the Earth.”

So as large as Earth appears compared with a speck of dust, the dust is that much larger than a subatomic particle.

That’s pretty amazing. But, let’s pull it apart and take a better good look.

A subatomic particle is smaller than an atom and atoms are pretty darned small.

What subatomic particles are we thinking of?

If we’re thinking of a quark, that’s a particle that the protons and neutrons in the center of an atom are made of, then the statement would more accurately be:

A single speck of dust is half way in size between a quark and the planet Jupiter.

If we’re thinking neutrino, a tiny, tiny particle that results from radioactive decay, cosmic radiation or the fusion reactions inside the Sun, then the statement would more accurately be:

A single speck of dust is half way in size between a neutrino and the diameter of the solar system.

Really.

The next time you see a speck of dust lazily floating in the air….think about how huge it is compared to an atom.

It just blows my mind.

Modeling is a Great Way to Learn

I know its one of those activities that’s kind of gone out of style but an excellent way to learn about things is build models of them.

When I was in middle school, I built tons of models. So many I didn’t have enough room to store them all. The manufacturers, Revell, Monogram, Lindberg etc, produced model kits of aircraft, race cars, rockets and, ships. If vehicles weren’t your thing, they made kits of the human body, movie monsters, insects and animals.

I built planes, cars, rockets, spacecraft and of course, ships. I learned a lot about all these vehicles by learning how they were put together our of small assembled units. I learned what all these little pieces and parts did and how they worked together to create a working vehicle.

It didn’t hurt that I lived next to a Navy base that’s hobby shop had every single model kit known to mankind on it’s shelves - especially ships. I bought a new kit every week.

Since I built a lot (probably all) the ship models available, I leaned a lot about the story of each ship and it’s place in history. How it fit into the historical context of, for example, World War II. 

For example, note the differences in the four battleships in the photo. They are from bottom to top - USS Arizona, USS North Carolina, USS South Dakota, USS Missouri. They represent different eras and the evolution of naval engineering and manufacturing technologies. Building models is a lot more fun than reading about naval architecture, but the end result is about the same.

As an adult I was pleased to learn newer and higher quality model kits were being produced. They were more detailed and accurate. Extra detail parts were available and additional sources for researching paint schemes became accessible with the growth of the internet.

Sadly, it seems kids are no longer interested in building model kits and that’s unfortunate. It’s a great way to learn outside a classroom setting.

Sitting and Waiting

Sometimes I wonder if my students really think I wave them all goodbye at the end of the day, then sit at my desk waiting for them to return in the morning.

Some must realize that I have a life outside the four walls of The Hellenic because they ask.

“Mr. McKellar, what do you do after school?”

Just to set the record straight; I do not sit at my desk from 2:30 p.m. to 7:25 a.m. I leave and do things.

Monday, we have STEM, so I don’t leave until 3:30 or so. Then, I tutor an 8th grade student in Math and Science.

Tuesday, I leave school and go to school. That’s the night my graduate classes are on, so I go from leading the class to being a student in the class.

Wednesday, we have Math Maniacs until 3:15. After that, I do marketing work for a local business. I distribute flyers, put together email lists, set up meetings and promotional events.

Thursday and Friday, I have a part-time job stocking the candy and magazines at some retail stores. 

Saturday, I often have an event to do for Mad Science. Mad Science presents science-based birthday parties, school vacation clinics, after school programs, and summer camps. My job title: Mad Scientist.

Sunday I have a long-standing job cleaning a fitness facility. I’ve been doing this job for 12 years. The facility is the Curves my wife owns and she’s a stern task-master.

So, you see, I don’t just sit and wait. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do, but none of it is as important as what I do between 7:25 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The Past, The Present, The Future

I had the pleasure of attending the Greek Independence Day reception at City Hall Saturday evening. 

It was quite an event. I learned a lot about Greek history and its strong connection to Lowell. I learned things about my school that I did not know and I got to see the 6th grade perform three Greek dances. 

I think the most important part of the evening for me, was how impressed I was with the strong sense of heritage and community the attendees felt. It was evident in everything they did Saturday night. 

It must be wonderful to share that bond with people, to have such a powerful connection to the past, the present and the future.

I don’t have much of a connection to my own heritage. In fact, I have only the briefest sketch of what that heritage even looks like. 

Saturday night, I had a glimpse of what I’ve missed out on and I’m poorer for not having it.

Remembering an Old Study Trick

I had a bit of a flashback at school this week and it reminded me of something I’d completely forgotten.

Tuesday is a pretty long day for me. I teach all day and then I go to class all night. It’s a graduate level program and it’s pretty demanding. The class runs from 4:30 to 9:15 and by the time I get to 8:30, I’m running out of gas.

I find it difficult to concentrate in that last part of the night. 

This Tuesday, my professor gave us the last hour of class to get ahead in our reading. We have a big text book filled with small type. It’s not an easy read under any circumstances, never mind the last hour of a 15-hour day.

I was struggling to get through the chapter. My eyes were moving across the words and pages, but my brain wasn’t engaged; it was just kind of numb.

So, I stood up, went outside without my coat. I walked around the parking lot with a brisk pace, and went back to my book. This time, however, I stood in the back of the classroom and read. 

Studying standing is a trick I learned in college when I was working from midnight to 8 a.m.

It worked in college and it worked Tuesday night. 

I got through the chapter, and I understood what I was reading.

Aaaaaannd, Here Come the Questions

During every single quiz or test I give my 6th graders, I am besieged with questions. 

No matter what the subject. No matter what the format, I end up with a line of students at my desk.

Today, I passed out a practice test, a test that is a preview of an upcoming test, a test that doesn’t even count. I must have had nearly every student come up to my desk with a question at some point.

I swear, sometimes it feels like they’re lined up at my desk before I finish passing out the tests.

I don’t even answer the questions and they still keep coming.

Every single time. I deflect their questions. I repeat their questions. I don’t give clues unless I’ve made a mistake in writing a question or they can’t read my wretched scrawl.

They know I won’t answer the question. They know they’re not getting any meaningful help but still, they keep coming.

Sometimes, it seems like if I read the question aloud, some deeply buried memory of a long lost lecture (from 3 days ago) begins to stir in their minds. Maybe my voice is some sort of auditory cue that wakes up their brains and gets their synapses firing.

I don’t know, but they’re like a herd of test-taking Walkers relentlessly shuffling up to my desk.

I’m tempted to institute a “No Questions!” rule during tests and quizzes but I haven’t yet. 

Yet.

Choose Wisely

One of my all time favorite bands, Aztec Two-Step, is celebrating their 43rd anniversary together this week.  They are a folk-rock duo who met at a Boston coffee house and have been making music ever since.

Their anniversary got me thinking about the music in my iTunes library and I realized that the foundation of my musical interests was laid in the eight years between the end of middle school and my college graduation.

I still listen to The Beatles, The J. Geils Band, Springsteen, The Who, Boston, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Neil Young and countless others. It’s not like that’s all I listen to, but that era defined great music for me.

I’ve added to that foundation with jazz greats like Dave Brubeck and innumerable blues artists like B.B. King, Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and Coco Montoya. I've added pop artists like Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz and Adel, but those artists I loved in high school and college I still love and probably always will.

So, a word to my eighth graders - the next eight years will probably also be the foundation of your musical tastes as well. Get ready and choose wisely because you’ll probably still be listening to those artists when you’re my age, in 2056.

Like a Koala Goes Through Eucalyptus Leaves

If my students go through pencils like a colony of beavers, then I go through dry-erase markers like a koala goes through eucalyptus leaves.

I love using different colors to illustrate specific points. I write on the whiteboard a lot. I have my math students do problems on the board almost every day.

I use the whiteboard for announcements, homework assignments and scheduling notifications. I post reminders to return progress reports, report cards, permission slips and

missing assignments.

I have a standing order with Mrs. Gaudet to order me dry-erase markers whenever she orders office supplies.

I was curious, so I looked up the history of the whiteboard and dry-erase marker. According to Wikipedia (this is not serious research):

Albert Stallion invented the whiteboard while working at American steel producer Alliance in the 1960s. 

One of the products Alliance produced was enameled steel, which was highly scratch resistant and easy to clean. It was used for architectural cladding purposes. Mr. Stallion commented in a meeting that this product would be a good addition in the market of writing boards, to replace the traditional chalk board. His comments were not taken very seriously. Being the entrepreneur he was, he started his own company, Magiboards, selling enamel steel whiteboards.

In the mid-1960s, the first whiteboards began to appear on the market. It took a while before these boards started to really be accepted, not least because the initial boards were wet wipe, as there were no dry markers at that time. In the 70's, however, marker manufacturers soon saw the potential of such markers and dry wipe whiteboards started to be accepted more readily. 

In classrooms, their widespread adoption did not occur until the early 1990s when concern over allergies and other potential health risks posed by chalk dust prompted the replacement of many blackboards with whiteboards.

So, there you have it, more information about whiteboards then you ever wanted to know.

The Problem with Wikipedia

“Wikipedia is a wonderful resource for quick research. It is absolutely not appropriate as a source for research papers or other scholarly works.”

These were the words my first graduate-level professor used when replying to a question about using Wikipedia as a source. Her tone made it clear, she was not kidding around.

Many of my fellow students felt this was overly harsh and kind of laughed off her opinion. I can honestly say, I didn’t understand why she was so adamant.

Now I understand. I get it. 

Last week, the New England Patriots signed free agent Darrelle Revis. Revis is the best cornerback in the National Football League. He’s so good, quarterbacks seldom throw in his direction...giving his part of the field the nickname “Revis Island” because he’s all alone out there.

Right after the signing, some wag updated the Wikipedia page for the islands of Massachusetts to include Revis Island. It was funny, no question, but it illustrates what’s wrong with using Wikipedia as a source for serious research. Anyone can update, change, edit or modify Wikipedia's pages. There’s no authority responsible for its content. 

For serious research, you just can’t trust what you read on Wikipedia.

In Celebration of Pi

Today we celebrated Pi day. (March 14th - ie 3.14 - is the only math holiday.) The History/Social Studies classes get all the holidays.

With the 6th grade, we discussed my patio with a 12’ diameter and my desire to string lights around it. 

“How much wire will I need?” I asked.

After much guessing, I showed them the magic of Pi and we calculated how much wire would be required to go around the outside of the patio.

Then the students traced circles of different sizes and measured the diameter and circumference of each. When they divided the diameter into the circumference, lo and behold, they all got very close to Pi. 

The lesson? No matter how large or small a circle, the ratio of diameter to circumference will always be 3.14. We celebrated our findings with Pi cookies.

Pi - 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288... is an irrational number - a decimal that never ends and never forms a repeating pattern - any number combination can be found somewhere within it. The database we used took Pi out to the 200,000,000th place. The 7th an 8th grade searched Pi for their birthdays, phone numbers and zip codes.

Then they wrote the first 72 decimal places of Pi on construction paper and we hung them on the classroom walls. We celebrated our accomplishment with Pi cookies and actual pie.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Pi day with my students. And next year will be ever better because we'll celebrate it on March 14, 2015 - ie 3.14.15 (see above.)

Not a Bad Way to Spend the Winter.

We finished our unit on Astronomy for the 7th and 8th grade yesterday. I think it was a successful unit. We had some fun and learned a lot along the way.

We learned about the seasons, eclipses and tides. We examined every major member of the solar system from the Sun to Pluto. We learned about robotic exploration of the solar system and manned spaceflight. 

We did a day on the human cost of exploration and talked about whether NASA ‘s spending is too much, too little or just right. We looked at NASA’s job posting board to see what kinds of jobs are in demand at NASA.

We talked about the universe, galaxies, black holes, neutron stars and quasars.

Finally we stretched our minds around the big bang theory, relativity, and quantum mechanics. I especially enjoyed the puzzled looks on the faces of my students as they tried to understand the implications of relativity and the big bang theory.

Along the way, we did rocket launches in the playground, looked for spots on the surface of the sun, and did weekly observations of the night sky.

We visited an observatory where we viewed Jupiter and it’s four largest moons, saw a supernova and peered into the heart of the Andromeda Galaxy.

Not a bad way to spend the winter.

It’s Really Coming

The truck has left Fenway Park.

Pitchers and catchers have reported.

We’ve sprung forward.

We’ve had two days with temperatures over 50° in the last week.

As I was walking the dog yesterday, I noticed buds on some of the trees. 

And, the most important harbinger of all, a skunk got into my trash last night.

Spring will be here in just eight days.

The crocuses, tulips and daffodils will be arriving shortly.

It means the end of snow days and indoor recess. It means I can put my shovels away. I can get my heavy winter coat dry cleaned and put way. I don’t have to talk to my oil guy again until fall.

It means the smell of freshly cut grass is just around the corner.

It means this awful, miserable, cold winter is nearly behind us and we’ve survived.

Cool Fun and Games With Carbon Dioxide

I really enjoy doing demonstrations with dry ice. For those you haven’t received a shipment of Omaha Steaks, dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and is most commonly used as a cooling agent for perishables in transit, such as frozen steaks.

If you take an ice cube out of the freezer and put it on the counter, it will warm up and melt into liquid water. If you let that water stand for some time, it will evaporate into the air, thus becoming a gas.

Frozen carbon dioxide skips the liquid phase. When exposed to air, it transforms into gaseous carbon dioxide.  That’s called sublimating. You can see the fog or smoke drifting off a chunk of dry ice. If you put that piece of dry ice on the counter, it will gradually disappear as it sublimates into the air. 

The fun comes when you add warm water, the sublimation speeds up dramatically causing large clouds of “fog.” You can add dish soap and generate bubbles filled with “smoke.”

Dry ice must be handled carefully. It’s extremely cold - about 110° below zero Fahrenheit. If you touch it with your bare skin it will “burn” you. Carbon dioxide is what we exhale and people can’t survive breathing it, so it’s important to avoid breathing in a lot of the gas. Also, since it continually transforms from a solid to a gas, you can not store it in a car, closed room or other confined space. If you do, you run the risk of walking into a room filled with carbon dioxide and finding yourself unable to breathe.

Dry ice is like so many things, work with it carefully and you can have a lot of fun. Ignore the warnings and you run the risk of frostbite...or worse.

You Do The Math.

Each of the middle school students at The Hellenic take English, Social Studies, Math, Science, and Greek every day. Once a week, they have Spanish, Art, Music, Computer, Library, Gym, and Religious Education.

So, which classes do the students look forward to and which do they dread?

It’s a very close race between the top three classes – they are separated by just two votes. 

Nosing ahead for the win is Science. (Pardon me while I take a bow.)

Right behind Science is English.

The students love Mrs. Minaker’s English class. It’s a great class – full of life and action but, really, it’s not a fair competition between Science and English. I mean, they’re not launching rockets, experimenting with dry ice, or smashing rocks in English, right?

You don’t have any exploding sonnets upstairs, do you Mrs. Minaker?

The third most popular class is Math. I guess my endless word problems centered around a UPS truck full of negative packages have not deterred their interest.

This brings us to the class some of our students dread. It’s the one daily class more students dislike than any other

It’s….drum roll please……Math. 

Third most popular and least popular class at the same time. Funny how that works.

I’m sure we have students who’d be happy to skip Math every day.

“I’ll have the high-quality middle school education, but, please, hold the Math.”

Yeah, it doesn’t really work that way.

What Do You Want To Be, When You Grow Up?

That’s a question that has been asked of kids for as long as there have been choices. I surveyed my students and received some very interesting responses.

We’ve got a nicely ambitious group here at The Hellenic.

The most popular field to go into, chosen by four of my 15 students, was some sort of a career in engineering – electrical, software, or computer. 

The next most popular field, specified by three students, was medical – doctors and dentists.

After this, the responses are all over the map. Some students want to work in the performing arts, the military, teaching, or design. Other ambitions include being an architect, chef or starting their own business.

I say follow your dreams, aim high. Follow your passion and you’ll never feel like you’re “working.” 

Trust me, I know a little about this.

What are your three favorite TV shows?

“What are your three favorite TV shows?”

That’s a question I posed to the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders this week.  

I found it interesting that some students said they didn’t watch TV enough to have any particular favorites, while others had a hard time limiting their list to just three choices.

I also learned about a lot of shows I’d never heard of, many of which I don’t think you could pay me to watch. 

So now, without further ado, the envelope please for the most popular TV shows as voted  by The Hellenic Academy 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades:

Dance Moms – An American dance reality television series set in Pittsburgh, at the Abby Lee Dance Company. The show follows the early careers of children in dance and show business, as well as the participation of their mothers.

Pretty Little Liars –  The series follows the lives of four girls – Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields – whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison DiLaurentis, in the summer after 7th grade. 

The Walking Dead –  An American pot-apocalyptic horror drama television series based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, et al. The series revolves around sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma to find a world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way. 

Note: that none of these shows are on one of the four major TV networks. They are all on cable channels (some owned by the big 4). I wonder if this says something about how our TV viewing habits have changed.

It's Yo-yo Season!

On this day in 1963, the Hula-Hoop, a hip-swiveling toy that became a huge fad across America when it was first marketed by Wham-O in 1958, was patented by the company's co-founder, Arthur "Spud" Melin. An estimated 25 million Hula-Hoops were sold in its first four months of production alone.

I kind of missed the hula-hoop craze but I did have one and I think all my friends did, too. It seemed like there were seasons to the toys we brought to school to play with. 

There was yo-yo season, where it seemed like everyone had a yo-yo and was learning tricks with it. If you didn’t have one, best get yourself down to the five-and-dime and pick one up.

After yo-yos, it was water guns – something that would never be permitted in today’s schools, but times were different then. All of a sudden, everyone had a little squirt gun in their pocket and you were attacked without warning or provocation. Walk around a corner and squirt, squirt, squirt all over your face and shirt.

One year, everyone had love beads. Yes, love beads. We strung them together and wore them around our necks. My Marine-drill-sergeant father saw them around my neck and, without saying a word, made it crystal clear that he did not approve.

Frisbees, Silly Putty, Super Balls, caps, jump ropes, and more all made their annual appearance on the playground.

It’s not like that today, that I can see. Are kids more mature than my generation was? Do these toys not amuse this generation?

Maybe not, with their bent towards electronic amusement, they might find actual toys boring. 

I just think they’re missing out on some fun stuff.