Links and notes and thoughts

In Schools, we create artificial learning environments for our children that they know to be contrived and undeserving of their full attention and engagement. Without the opportunity to learn through the hands, the world remains abstract, and distant, and the passions for learning will not be engaged." - shop teacher

This opening quote for the book, Shop Class as Soulcraft, explains a lot about several generations of educated people in the US. It's like peaking behind the curtain of a freakshow that we have come to except as normal, and seeing the gears of a great machine neglected and grinding and falling apart.

-Chad told me about a guy in Oregon that is a math teacher as well as educatrional garden developer. find link...

-in yosemite, I am going to write to each line item in the sub-test 1 information outline, as they relate to a woodshop. after the CSET I will start to add pictures and build a plan for an IA teacher training program.

-I need to propose a passive solar model, to different audiences and different business sectors and government sectors. draw attention to the first model

-sketchup evaluation
http://sketchup.google.com/industries/edu/educators.html
case study teaching 16-18 yr old home design
https://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dc837t9h_68gt44qsgt

After a less than quality class in April, I started a new class at National University and I continue to get frustrated with an atrophied education system, through and through. But I am still plotting along and working towards teaching and growing the industrial arts in public schools. What I have learned at National is that there is no clear path to becoming a teacher, which I take as a positive opportunity to be creative in my approach. I have learned that how our public schools prepare our youth for life is through relentless academic training(memorization), separated from life experience, is echoed in teacher training programs(especially at National). Are we to believe that a good teacher will be produced from attending 15 classes, reading 15 books, and doing 4 months of student teaching, while going into considerable debt in the process? I have to say that my 4 years substitute teaching have taught me more about being a teacher than anything I have encountered in these classrooms.
And my particular predicament here in the SF bay area, is that there are no specific Industrial Arts credential programs.
-internships as entry to teaching, work with a boomer, while learning course work. make golden handshake with boomers to negotiate a new retirement deal, while working toegther to hand off society into a new model for changing societies foundation.

What does it mean to be included? What does it mean to be excluded?
Inclusion is the meaningful participation of special needs students in the general ed classroom. Any time a student is unable to receive or complete classroom activities because of an exception, they are being excluded.

Have you ever been excluded? What was the exclusion based on? How did you feel?
I often felt excluded in the classroom because I generally take a much longer time to process information and sort out thoughts and ideas. I usually feel angry at an education system that seems ot only have one speed; really fast, which in my opinion leads to a shallow knowledge.

What can you do to avoid this from happening to any of your students?
I can make accommodations for students who seem to need a little more time on assignments.

How will you use technology in your classroom with students with exceptionalities?
In a shop environment the predominant technology used will be machines to make things. This offers all learner the opportunity to make something with their hands and not only test their knowledge of the machines and their functions, but to practice their knowledge as well. This unique learning process might be beneficial to a wide array of classroom exceptionalities from behavioral to parts of the autism spectrum.

(cartoon credit. Seriously, we need to constantly remind teachers and presenters everywhere that we have to deliver a good presentation, PP can't do it for us. And if you are reading what is on the slides, you are likely pissing off a lot of people for wasting their time.)
10 exception presentations later and I feel like saying we spend more time associating labels and categories to different types of learners, physical abilities, and behaviors, that we aren't spending enough time simply being with the students and connecting on a human level. With that said, I do find it important to study different behaviors, physical abilities, and learners so as to be the most prepared teacher I can be for all learners. And it is no joke that some learners need and deserve extra help.