The second thought that came to mind was the Saturday Night Live episode where William Shatner told all the “Trekkies” to “Get a life!”  I was thinking the same thing about all these spoilers.  Are their lives so shallow that they need to spend hours trying to figure out every aspect of the Survivor series?  What happened to the fun in just watching the show?

C. 1986 National Broadcasting Company

The same idea comes when I think about the people that can’t simply play a video game for the fun of it.  There are those that must get books upon books of cheats, codes, and easter eggs.  I think to myself that there is no fun in cheating.  If you play a game, legitimately, to the completion and you really enjoyed it, then go back and find the codes or cheats and have fun with it.  You have accomplished the goal of the game.  But to immediately have an unlimited arsenal and know where all the treasure is before you have even explored the town, then all the fun is sucked right out of the game.

C. 1972 Universal Pictures

One of my favorite shows of all time is Columbo.  It, in itself, is a cheat, or, more to our discussion, a spoiler.  The first 20 minutes of the show is the actual murder.  You know, immediately, who the killer is.  Most people would read the last chapter of the mystery novel first so that they know the murderer before they even start the book.  Columbo does it for you.  But that’s not the mystery behind the show.  They intriguing part of Columbo is to see how HE discovers the criminal.  We already know.  So, in the case of Columbo, the spoiler is not the most important part.  It’s the process to catch the killer.

About half way through chapter 1, it was quite clear that the spoilers were driectly connected to CBS and they gave information and mis-information at just the right time and in just the right amount to keep the Internet public interested in the show.  As in all advertisement, any publicity (even bad publicity) is good publicity.  Jenkins described how irritated the internet public became when the sources of the information wasn’t given out.  They felt that they needed to prove that the spoiler was legitimate.  Again, another thought came to mind.  It’s more fun to try to prove that the Loch Ness Monster is real than to try to figure out who gets booted off the island.

I guess my point is that it’s not really the chapter that irritated me but the people that focus their lives on a TV show.  It’s like those people that sit for hours going through a Disney cartoon frame by frame to try to find something that has to do with sex so that they can discredit the Disney company.  As Shatner says, “Get a life!”

Tom Alvarez

There is a beautiful, smart, well mannered and loving kindergarten girl in my school.  She is always smiling and happy.  She does her best on all her school work.  She never talks out, always raises her hand to ask a question and is the kind of student that every teacher wants in his or her class.

Three days ago, this loving young girl lost both of her parents in a car accident.  She was not with them at the time, thank goodness.

I had her in class yesterday.  She was just as smily and bright as always.  You would never have thought that anything was wrong.  During class, she waved me over to her.  When I stood in front of her desk, she leaned over and waved me in closer.  She whispered in my ear, “My parents are killed.”  I almost lost it right there.  I said, “I know sweetie.  That’s very sad.”  I didn’t know what else to say.  I want her to think of my classroom as a happy place and I don’t want bad things to be spoken of in there.  This just tore my heart out.  As I walked away from her seat, I looked over my shoulder at her working as if nothing happened and thought to myself that I would adopt her in a heartbeat!

She currently lives with her mother’s parents and is getting proper therapy.

Tom Alvarez

It is too easy for a mischievous child to ruin a teacher’s reputation and job by accusing him or her of doing something inappropriate simply because he or she wanted to get back at the teacher because the student failed a test.  It doesn’t even have to be a poor grade.  It can be just anything.

There was a teacher that I know personally who was telling a child to go to a location at the school faster than he was moving.  That particular student was know to wander around campus.  The child was about 12 paces in front of the teacher and there were many other students and teacher’s aids around.  When that child arrived at home, he told his father that the teacher pushed and shoved him so that he would get to his destination faster than he was going.  Everyone believed the “innocent” child.  Of course, no one looked at the child’s large referral record or considered the fact that he was a discipline problem at the school.  The father contacted the local news station and a crew came to the teacher’s school to interview.  The school didn’t allow the media on the property (good school policy), so the media went to the father’s house to interview him.  Of course, the father bad mouthed the teacher, the school, and the entire district for hiring abusive educators.  Well, after speaking with the child, the law enforcement of the area have eventually gotten the truth out of the child.  The teacher was indeed far away from the child (also, according to all the witnesses) and no physical contact was ever made.  The news report was quietly buried and no one ever heard any more about it.

This is an outrage!  Why didn’t the news crew go up to the father and ask such questions as: “Do you realize that your child was lying about a teacher?”, “How will you discipline your child because of these false accusations?”, or “Do you realize that your child lied to authorities about this and it could have ruined a great teacher’s career?”  Of course the media didn’t do that.  For some reason, it is more of a “story” if it is negative toward the very people who shape and nurture our children.  The media simply let the story die on its own without one word of recourse.

As a teacher, there is not much one can do.  If you try to sue the parent, you look bad to the public.  If you try to contact the media, the district doesn’t like that type of publicity.  You just have to suck it up and hope everyone forgets quickly and that little damage was done.

I truly believe that there should be some form of discipline for the child that lies and the parents of that child (depending on the age of the child).  A good teacher’s career should not be wide open for children to attack simply because they are disgruntled.  People have always said such things as, “I just love children because the are so truthful.”  Sure, children are truthful when they are not in fear of getting in trouble.  So, they can tell everyone in a room that Aunt Gertrude’s breath stinks and all around giggle but they will lie through their teeth if they are cornered because of something they did wrong.

I just love the quote from Judge Judith Sheindlin (Judge Judy) when she tells people, “You can easily tell when teenagers are lying.  It’s when their mouths are open” (Sheindlin, 1997).

Sheindlin, J. (1997). Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining: America’s toughest family court judge speaks out. New York: HarperCollins.

Tom Alvarez

I love my kids.  They are such a wonderful group of little people.  When I am asked what I do for a living, I reply by saying, “I play with children all day.”  It is so true.  When I go to school each morning, I am instantly surrounded by these beautiful, innocent little faces that just want to love you and need your love.  I would never teach any other level but elementary.  That’s because I am sure to be smarter then them.  Basically, I am the same age as they are.  Physically, I am 42.  Mentally, I am 10… some people say 6 but that’s up for argument.  My classroom is usually filled with laughter.  Even if a class doesn’t get my jokes, they still laugh because they know that they are supposed to and it makes them feel like they are part of a special group.  If I have a discipline problem, I usually can solve it with humor.  In the beginning of the school year, I tell the kids in every class that if I don’t pick on them, that means I don’t like them and there is no one in this school that I don’t like… except the music teacher.  They just burst out laughing on that because they know of my playful battles with the music teacher.  It is a wonderful career.  I am very fortunate because I am the teacher where the kids want to go.  I teach art and there is no child who does not want to paint or mush clay between their fingers or just want to imagine.  It is very rare that I have a child who doesn’t want to come to my class.  I did have a child that wanted to be absent on art day because he was so upset that he could never create good artwork and he didn’t want to let me down.  It was so sad but flattering.  I changed his mind.  I let the children know that I am not an art critic.  I am an art teacher and as long as they are doing their best, they will get a good grade.  There was a time that I was thinking about moving to the high school because I wanted to help students draw in more detail rather than teaching the difference between a circle and a square (a bit exaggerated).  I think I just wanted something different and I chose the easiest change.  Well, then I came to Full Sail.  Now that I am in the process of getting my masters, I got the kick in the pants that I needed to get moving.  Since I have started, I couldn’t think of why I would ever want to leave elementary.

Don’t get me totally wrong.  It is not always peaches and cream.  There are days that just make me want to run out of the building screaming.  I have had complete classes that just don’t want to listen to directions or were just rude.  It happens sometimes.  The next week, those same kids don’t even remember what they did wrong.  You will always get that one student (in every class) that gives you that big challenge where all you want to do is just drop the kid off at his parent’s office and say, “You deal with him!”  That scenario doesn’t happen very often.

When we discuss the different careers that are available in the art field, I always tell the students, “I hope you get a careen when you grow up that you love as much as I love mine.”  There are too many miserable people out there.  Life is too short to be angry all the time.

Tom Alvarez

There are two quotes that go way back. One is, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” and “All children can and will learn.” Both statements are so true and yet, they are also interchangeable.

I am going to begin with the second statement. All children can and will learn. That is so true. Whether it is mathematics or video games, grammer or slang, auto repair or hotwiring a car. Children WILL learn. The problem is that teachers can’t make them learn positive material all the time. Family, friends, environment, and upbringing all play parts in what a child wants to learn.

The first statement has been rearing it’s ugly head too much lately. You can lead a horse (child) to water (education) but you can’t make him drink (learn). Why is it that the education systems and governments are holding teachers responsible for the lazyness and disinterest of the children. Teachers can do everything in their powers to present material to the students in fun and entertaining ways but it is solely up to the student to accept and absorb it. This becomes very aggrivating to teachers and schools.

Here is my personal question. When will the government hold the parents responsible for the lack of interest in their own child? I feel that if a child is failing, and the government is taking money away from the schools, then the parents of that child should have their taxes raised to compensate for the loss of funds to the schools. You will see a lot of parents start getting involved in their child’s education.

Let’s face it, we live in a society where “I am the most important and don’t you dare bother me until I’m ready to deal with you.”  That’s fine and dandy if you are single and have no children, however, this comes into play with parents.  We all work hard, I understand that.  I have fallen into this category as well.  The comment goes like this; “I work all day and when I get home, I’m tired, so, you (my child), don’t bother me because this is MY time, now.”

Wow, what a strong statement to make, and it happens all the time. I have witnessed many scheduled meetings where the parent(s) don’t show up.  Now, I’m not talking about simple teacher meetings to say, “Hi!” to the parent(s).  I’m talking about discipline problem students, students that need to be scheduled into certain classes, and students that need to have evaluations of their abilities.  These are important meetings to have with the parents.  The parents must sign off on these meetings for the benefit of their child(ren).  It is all done so that the students can have the best education that is aimed at their abilities to learn.  So, why are there some parents that don’t bother to show up to the meetings?

If a parent meeting has been scheduled, it is always done with the parent’s consent.  The date and time is set and all will be ready.  When that date comes, all those involved (classroom teacher, guidance counselor, school psychologist, and possibly a member of the administration) and all the paperwork is gathered in a conference room and ready to talk in the best interest of the child.  Then, the parent(s) don’t show up.  ”Well, I had an emergency.  My dog had an anxiety attack.”  Okay, fine!  Emergencies happen.  So, the date is rescheduled and all those involved (again) are ready for another meeting that should have taken place two or three months earlier.  And, once again, the parent(s) don’t show up.  The excuse this time is that he/she forgot.

At this point, what should happen, is that all parental rights to that child’s education should be taken away.  From that point on, it is up to the professionals to determine what is best for that child.  If the parent(s) don’t want to be bothered taking part in their child(ren)’s education, then don’t you dare complain if the education system does something that you don’t like  for the benefit of that child.  You had your chance.  It is now in the hands of those that work in education.  This may seem harsh and I’m sure there are a lot of you, out there, thinking that I’m crazy so I will give you a less severe example.

There is absolutely no excuse for a five year old to come into kindergarten and not know their A,B,C’s, colors, shapes, and numbers.  Well, if there is no excuse, then why is it happening more and more?  Even if!!!, even if the parent didn’t want to work with the child for the first five years of that baby’s life and wanted to use the dreaded electronic babysitter (television) to pasify the child, then put on something worth while like Sesame Street or Barney.  Certainly not!  They have to slap that kid down in front of Sponge Bob so that the child can soak in all the disgusting habbits, terribly manners, and rudeness that society deems appropriate, today.

Please don’t think that this is how I feel about parents.  I love my students’ parents.  I am blessed with a great group of parents in my school.  It is just the comments and frustrations that I am hearing from educators from all over that gave me the seed to write this blog.

All I’m asking is for today’s parents to just be parents, stop being selfish, and love your child enough to be part of it’s life.

http://www.greatschools.net/content/article.page?state=ca&aid=64

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/famncomm/pa100.htm

Tom Alvarez

Now that my disclosure is complete, I may get on with my blog.  I will also try, very hard, to keep it to a minimum.

I must say that I have felt this way since February when I completed reading the book, Intelligence Reframed by Howard Gardner (Gardner, 1999). (http://www.amazon.com/Intelligence-Reframed-Multiple-Intelligences-Century/dp/0465026117/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239918422&sr=8-8).  I wanted to keep my thoughts to myself because I didn’t know enough of his work or any support of his work to make any type of educated comments on the work.  Plain and simple, I didn’t want to look like an idiot talking about something I knew very little.  Now that I have read Garner’s article, Multiple Lenses on the Mind (Gardner, 2005), (http://www.howardgardner.com/docs/multiple_lenses_0505.pdf), I feel I must articulate my thoughts.  In the back of my mind, I’m thinking that there must be many people that feel the same way I do, yet, they are afraid of stating their thoughts because of their position in either education, the scientific community, the publishing community, or simply not wanting to look stupid.  Well, I’m willing to look stupid to make my point.  If I am wrong, I will be the first person to apologize and congratulate the one that proved me wrong.

Well, here it goes.  I can’t, for the life of me, understand how anyone can buy into the Multiple Intelligence Theory.  To me, it screams of, “I made all this up and people actually believe it!”  Gardner, in the above mentioned book, stated that there are  seven intelligences.  According to the book, they are: Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Musical, Bodily-kinesthetic, Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and yet, he still adds one more; Naturalistic.  In the above mentioned article, Gardner claims that there are nine intelligences.  They are all of the above with Existential added to the list.  He even claims that he doesn’t think that he has identified all of the intelligences.  Well, he may be right.  He claims that we, each, have cognitive developement that gives us our ability to have these intelligences and that we may have some strenghts that aren’t listed.  In the article, Gardner mentions that naturalistic intelligence is the ability to tell the difference between plants, as well as the difference between clouds and mountains.  Well, sure!  I can tell the difference between Spider-Man and Sponge Bob.  Does that make me have a cartoon intelligence.  What about my wife?  She knows how to cook steak and chocolate pudding.  Does that give her a culinary intelligence?  See how ridiculous this is beginning to sound?

Then, if Gardner IS correct and we do possess these multiple intelligences, how can you assess them?  Is there a test to show what MI you have?

I believe that Gardner hit upon something that hasn’t been thought of before and he ran with it.  It’s just like Andy Warhol.  He was an artist that took popular icons of contemporary time and printed them with bright colors on large canvases.  Is that art?  Well, that’s up to you.  But, the biggest kick in the head was that Warhol, himself, did very little of the actual work.  So, now, who is the true artist, Warhol or his employees?

Gardner’s MI theory was so incredibly accepted by his peers and others in the scientific, psychological and educational areas that he had to continue to publish (and make money) on his theory just to show how right he is and to keep his ideas in the public eye. 

One more item of interest I must add.  If you have read his book(s) and his paper(s), Gardner always has loophole within his literature.  So, if it comes to the point where he MUST prove his theories, well, there is a way out of that, too.

Reference

Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (2005). Multiple lenses on the mind. In ExpoGestion Conference. Bogota, Colombia.

Tom Alvarez

I might be on the least populated locations but, it seems to me that every time I log on, there are very few others on to interact with me.  I would think that Diagon Alley and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series, StarFleet Command from the Star Trek series, and The Death Star from Star Wars would be extremely populated areas.  There are millions that are interested in each one of these stories and yet the Second Life worlds were almost always abandoned.

Several times a day I check at least four locations on Second Life.  Unfortunately, it is rare that I find anyone logged in at the same time as I am.  I find myself walking about aimlessly trying to find people with which to interact.  I have thought of the possibilities that I’m on at the wrong times, I am on the wrong landmarks, or, even that others see that I’m on and they quickly get off.  I don’t know and I simply don’t understand.  I would really like to experience the fullness of Second Life, if only I could.

So, I ask one simple question, “Where is everybody?”

www.secondlife.com

Tom Alvarez

Now, you need to know that I am not a very big video game player, however, when I find a game, I immerse myself into if for very long periods of time.  Years ago, I was caught up in a game for the Amiga computers (remember those?).  It was called Dungeon Hack.  I played for hours each day.  It was quite addicting.  The only way I was able to get away from that game was when I purchased a new Macintosh computer.  The exact same game was not made for the Mac platform.  After that, I have never come across a video game that I enjoyed as much as Dungeon Hack.  Well, at least, not until now.

To say it is easy to get lots in Second Life, is an understatement.  First off, I can’t really call it a game.  There is so much more to it than playing.  You can build, rent, sell, buy, meet others, learn, teach, have relationships, and so much more.  So, to call it a game, would be an injustice.  Therefore, I will call it a sim (short for simulation).  This sim is so vast that it is more than worlds.  It is a group of universes.  Anything you can think of doing, you can do in this sim.  If you wish to be a Jedi Master, then simply go to that location.  If you want to learn how to dissect a human heart, they have that, too.  It is literally anything you can think of doing.  If you just so happen to hit upon something that is not there yet, well, just give it some time.  It will be created.  Or, perhaps, you will create it, yourself.

I’m not just talking about this to get you interested in this sim.  I’m interested in what the psychological repercussions will be to some people.  The sim is a three dimensional representation of you (called an Avitar) in any way you wish to look and the world around you.  Yet, it seems that the more you “play”, the more real it gets in your mind.  I understand that people have begun relationships on Second Life.  Others have started jobs, and, yes, you can make real money from this sim.  So, my question is, when does Second Life switch places and become someone’s first life?  I have heard of people falling in love in Second Life.  I have also heard of intimate relationships.  I am trying to understand if there is any type of an end to it.  At this point, I can’t see one.  I have not heard of divorces coming out of this sim, but I’m sure it has happened.  I just don’t see how this can be healthy in the long run.

Don’t get me wrong on this.  I greatly enjoy this sim.  I have recently become a Dean for the school of Command for Star Fleet Academy and I must now create a curriculum for cadets who wish to become officers.  To repeat a famous quote, “It is fascinating” (Spock, 1967).  I am just thinking ahead to the number of people that will become bankrupped because they are spending real money to buy sim items, the amount of broken homes due to online relationships, and, simply, lost souls sitting in front of the computer for months on end.

I can foresee the steps as going from Second Life to first life and, soon after, no life at all.

Reference

Pevney, J. (Director). (1967, September 15). Amok time [Television series episode]. [With William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy & DeForest Kelley]. In Star

     Trek [Television series episode]. New York: Central Broadcasting Company.

www.secondlife.com

Tom Alvarez

One very upsetting factor about education that has been irritating me lately is the lack of handwriting skills that are being taught.  I have asked several teachers in my school what the reason is.  I have received answers like, “We don’t have enough time.”, “It’s not in the curriculum.”, and the worst is, “Why do they need to know how to write?  They do everything on the computer and handwriting will be a lost art very soon.”

Wow!  That is certainly disturbing!  First, that teachers really feel that way and second, that it might actually happen.

So, the way I see it, shortly in the future, only specially trained people will know how to write and we will have to hire a “scribe” to do any physical writing.  Wasn’t that the 15th Century?  Okay, so, let’s say that it does happen that way and the students are only writing on computers.  Well, then who is teaching them keyboarding skills?  When I was in High School, we had to take a business class and one of the choices was typing.  That was one of the best classes that I ever took.  Two years of Italian has never helped me throughout my life, yet, two years of typing has followed me every day since I graduated high school.  Again, isn’t that 19th century education?

Someone please answer me when I ask, “Are we moving ahead or backwards?”