An 1895 8th Grade Final Exam: I Couldn't Pass It. Could You? | The New Republic

Please take a look at this test. It is often used to illustrate the 'quality' of an 8th grade education from 1895. By 'quality' what most who post this or email it around mean is really how terrible our education system is today. I would like to get your thoughts on this test and how it compares to the knowledge our students acquire in schools today.

An 1895 8th Grade Final Exam: I Couldn't Pass It. Could You? | The New Republic

Take that Bauerlein!

A couple of Canadian millennials launched a Lego minifugre into the reaches of outer space. All for the fun of it.



This single event dispells so many myths that Mark Bauerlein spreads about the millennials. The two students were able to get off Facebook and Twitter long enough to devote four and a half months into this project. Not only did they handsew the parachute needed to return their cargo to earth, but they also constructed a styrofoam box to carry the minifigure, three cameras, a cell phone, and a GPS app.

Their ingenuity is wonderfully refreshing in the face of Bauerlein's insistence that millennials are dumb and anti-inellectuals: the boys bought a weather balloon online for $85. They used helium from a party supply store. They also put two mitten warmers inside the styrofoam box to keep everything warm and functioning properly on the way up. In all they spent $400 - just because they wanted to conduct an experiment, one they were inspired to after watching a video (no doubt on-line via that dastardly invention known as YouTube) of MIT students who sent a balloon to near space.

Bauerlein claims that his book, The Dumbest Generation, in part is designed to have millennials prove him wrong. The problem is that he is so biased that he will never admit to being proven wrong. He will no doubt assert that these two students and their uber-cool science experiment (done, by the way, completely out of school) is an incredibly rare example. He would argue that the run-of-the-mill millennial is not doing activities like this.

And he is probably correct. But we could level the same argument at him. The average baby-boomer is not busy needlessly bashing an entire generation when the bulk of his peers acknowledge that no one generation is smarter or dumber than any other. Just equipped with different skills and expectations.

Dumbest Gen Ch. 2 response

On page 42, Bauerlein argues: "To prosper in the hard-and-fast cliques in the schoolyard, the fraternities, and the food court, teens and 20-year-olds must track the latest films, fads, gadgets, YouTube videos, and television shows." He says this as if there is nothing intellectually satisfying in any of these.

Use the wallwisher site (embedded below) to find one intellectually rewarding video from YouTube and post it on there. Be sure to state briefly why you find the video rewarding.

WWBD

What Would Bauerlein do in response to this take on your generation?

Dumbest Gen Ice Breaker #2

For Wednesday's assignment, read the article from the Boston Globe, entitled "8 reasons why this is the dumbest generation" and leave comments on the article. State one reaction and then look at the other comments and respond to at least two other comments.

It works best if you leave comments under your myprowler.org google address.

Exploratory Essay

Here is the topic for theme #2 -

* Choose a topic you are interested in. Then begin finding sources that allow you to explore the issue or topic in greater depth. As you learn more about your topic, chronicle what you learn about it. Using at least one source, explore your that topic.

You do not have to draw any firm conclusions, as this is an exploratory essay. Maybe you want to weigh both sides of an issue. Maybe you want to play devil’s advocate on an issue. Maybe you want to just learn more about a subject you have never had a chance to explore. Maybe you want to convince yourself that you have selected the right major or college. Maybe you want to research a subject in order to prove someone you know wrong.

Be sure to use your print source to help you explore your essay. Don't simply find a source and cite it in order to get them out of the way. Instead, use the source to help inform or guide the exploration of your position.

My example from last year -

Like many, I've been watching the tragedies in Japan. I'm particularly worried about the damaged nuclear reactors. I would have to see a repeat of the Chernobyl disaster.

So for my essay, I plan to explore nuclear power plants. Now that is pretty broad. To help narrow that down, I'm going to develop a specific position on nuclear power plants. My position will be how to best prevent them from melting down and unleashing massive amounts of radiation. I will let that position drive my exploration of the topic.

Another example from past classes -

I recall one student who was fascinated by the new iPad. They took the perspective of wanting to know if it could replace their laptop. They used that perspective to drive their exploration of the the iPad.

Another student wanted to explore the reasons behind school internet filters. They took the perspective of arguing against school content filters. Again, they let this perspective drive their research. However, because of their exploration, they actually realized that they were in favor of the content filter and wished for it to remain in place.

A final example, a student wanted to convince their parents to let her attend a college far away from home. She researched the university and the program she wished to major in and used that research to help try and convince her parents.

Here are two examples upon scribd.com right now.

IDK


Exploroatory Essay Imagination

Dumbest Gen Ice Breaker

First assignment for The Dumbest Generation:

Go to the wallwisher site below and leave two pieces of feedback.

First, listen to the Adam Corolla rant on spoiled and entitled millennials via the Glenn Beck show (Lord, have mercy on my soul). Be sure to listen to the first video and the last video on the link. Then summarize two of their main ideas regarding the problem with your generation.

Second, search the web and find a video or story detailing the problems with your millennial generation (or sometimes known as Gen Y) and post it on the site.

So to conclude: You should have two posts on the wallwisher site. One summarizing two main ideas from the Corolla rant. Another posting a story or video on the negative aspects of your generation.

Thanks

Here is the wallwisher link

College Comp II Exit Survey

Please take a couple of minutes and complete this survey for me.

Thanks

Student Feedback on the Blog (and blogs)

I'd like to get some feedback from you regarding these two questions: first, what are your thoughts on our class blog (things you like about it, limitations, and any suggestions) and second, what are your thoughts on the beauty blogs (and any other blogs) you created for this class (things you enjoyed about the process, limitations of the process, and any suggestions for teachers who might be thinking of using blogs in their classes).

You can either leave the feedback in the comments below (if that doesn't work, just email me your responses and I'll post them) or leave feedback on the wallwisher site below.



Thanks.

You guys are the best and I'm going to miss you after this week.

Digi Key Interview Schedules

January 17th

January 18th

Class Evaluation Link

Here is the link to the NCTC class evaluation. Remember, this is anonymous so be honest.

Thanks

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EB7KZSQCV

Wallwisher for MGRP

Go to this wallwisher site and please post what your topic will be for your MGRP. Please list all genres that you are thinking of incorporating.

A New Video from "THE MAN" - Sir Ken Robinson

Possible genres for your MGRP

Follow this link and there are dozens of possibilities for your paper.

Here is a youtube multi-genre paper (how cool would that be?)



And here is my hero, Tom Romano, the godfather of the multi-genre research paper explaining it.

I Love This

From: BestMastersInEducation.com