Thomas Education

An unretouched copy of recent e-mail from my principal: Jeffrey, I enjoyed visiting your class this past week and watching you and your students read through and discuss Merchant of Venice.  Most of the students who read put some genuine effort into reading with emotion and energy.  What was really good to see, however, was how well the rest of the class remained engaged with the reading, the play, and the discussions in-between various portions.  You did a good job of pulling the non-readers into active discussion and participation with your questions, comments, and prompts.  I appreciated the tone and environment of the class as well, focused and productive, yet comfortable and engaging.  I wish I could have stayed longer to hear more of the follow-up discussion.    Thanks for welcoming me and keep up the good work!

Need for clarification of high school policy regarding two related but independent items: 1- the effect of tardy, incomplete, or missing assignments on course grades; and 2- the effect of Missing/Incomplete grades on report card calculation and summary grades at quarter-end. We assume that a grade mark should indicate level of knowledge of the subject more than it indicates level of adult-responsibility.   If a student does not complete an assignment, then the evaluation of student’s performance in the course is simply Incomplete.   If the assignment is important, then the grade should simply remain Incomplete until the student completes the work and is assessed.  If the assignment is not important, then it should not be counted at all in anyone’s course grade.   In the real world, circumstances often compel us to assess a grade with incomplete knowledge — one could argue that all assessments are by definition incomplete to some extent, as we cannot tr...

The faculty attitude to assignment deadlines:  Let's discuss this at faculty meeting! We make homework assignments in order to     ⁃    extend learning a topic already covered     ⁃    reinforce learning a topic currently discussed     ⁃    prepare for a specific performance task as a group (discussion, recitation, lab, etc)     ⁃    provide differentiation, so all students can learn more material (if some cannot finish within classtime limits, then finish at home)     ⁃    cover basic principles in advance (flipped classroom), so that classtime can be spent on questions and coaching     ⁃    accomplish a capstone project that represents culmination of the course learning goals We set deadlines for assignments in order to:     •    emulate adult life, prepare them for adult l...

Presenting Problem: some students do not complete assignments on time.  We want them to complete the assignments as soon as possible. Another related issue is that of providing ever-more-accurate and timely feedback on student performance. Let’s focus first on simply Missing assignments: Let’s define them as Assignments not received by the previously-specified due-date. The assignments and their due-dates were duly registered in Renweb. The teacher has marked the assignments in the (Renweb) gradebook with a grade of “M”.  (In the case of a Moodle assignment, the moodle-interface will not automatically place any letter, but it will automatically update the cell when the teacher marks a numeric grade on that student’s assignment record. ) What can we do to reduce the number of missing assignments; to get students to complete work on time? Our goal is of course for all students to do all work on time, to the best of their abilities.  In truth, most teachers regularly experi...

A good organization’s e-mail system has a directory readily available to staff, preferably also other stakeholders as well.  A staff member should be able to type the first few characters of a name in the addressline and either offer a list of matching names or actually complete the name and e-mailaddress; or press a readily-available Contacts button that would do the same.   I should be able to search via either firstname or lastname.   The organization’s e-mail addresses all follow the same naming pattern, so that if the directory search is not available, I can deduce the name by following a logical pattern such as firstname.lastname@ Even when switching to a new naming standard, if old staff insist on keeping old addresses, add new addresses that fit the new standard, and move mailbox to the new name (and auto-forward mail sent to the old address).   Mixed standards ensure confusion. Documentation is double-checked for correctness.  Trip...

Tips: Before going to Korea: Get google-voice number, and Vonage/Magic-jack phone: Obitalk.com Take US cell phone?  probably, if it’s unlocked and recent.  Probably not, if it’s old.  US service will work, though expensive.   Barb’s sister gave us a cheap phone on her plan, which we keep as emergency.  However, Korea phone service, cable, wi-fi is a bit cheaper than US; and our school gets package deal with KT.  Newer US phones probably can convert to KT service. Electronics: voltage=220, plugs are round.  Take 1 or 2 plug adaptors.  Most electronic equipment is multi-voltage, but not all:  check it, and try not to take 110volt-only items.  Can get plug adaptors in most hardware stores.  School typically supplies 1 transformer per house.  School provides MacBook to each teacher, so you probably do not need to bring your own laptop, unless you prefer not to carry back and forth. Things to bring: whatever ...

As we prepare for service trips, I compiled a list of tasks that a typical school group should include.  Giving each participant a definite role in the group evens out the load and helps the students learn organization principles and responsibility.  It can be very helpful in case of emergency or problem situations; but it also takes more investment in preparation and requires accountability to keep it going -- further, it confirms the educational nature of the trip, as it is not just a casual holiday. Group leader:  the face of our group, meets with corresponding leaders, accepts awards, speaks for the group, calls meetings to order Assistant leader:  backup, when leader is not available. Attendance:  are we all here?  Where is Zoey?  where is Mr.B ? Backup attendance person Accountant/Treasurer: simply keep track of group spending, request and store receipts, disburse money.  (Be sure to take extra envelopes to store receipts, a...

My overall statement about the goals of my literature courses, at all levels of high school: Through our program, students learn to appreciate and analyze a wide range of texts, exploring the different ways the human condition is expressed across time and culture. YISS students seek to demonstrate excellence in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in order to evaluate information, listen actively, communicate responsibly, and inform and articulate their worldview. Through the tools of language, YISS students are empowered to form and communicate their identities and utilize the gifts that God has given them.