20 Time Project

This is my second year hosting a 20 Time project --yes, I'm a host, I'm not a teacher.  Last year I ran the project in the last marking period.  This year I'm hoping with another 4 weeks added on we'll have a deeper understanding of the impact of the project, of what it means for learners to have Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose as the drivers for their work in school.  (Thank you, Daniel Pink!)

A.J. Juliani, who works at a neighboring district to mine was instrumental, through his blog, in getting me started down this path.  Kevin Brookhouser out in California took my thinking to another level and has inspired me to allow my 10th graders (90 % of whom had me as a teacher last year) to move forward with a 10th grade version of 20 Time in which they'll be working beyond their own passions and looking to have an effect on a larger community:  their grade level, the school, their neighborhood...the world.  Maria, below, from Kevin Brookhouser's class, is a great example.  (And if you're a book lover, you should subscribe to her channel!)

20 Time represents a shift in the power in school (and here I'm paraphrasing the work of George Couros in The Innovator's Mindset:  Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity).  We talk a lot about "engaging" students in our classes, but even there, the teacher holds the power:  He or she has a passion or desire or mandate to get students to learn something which they may not be interested in.  Even when the vast and often difficult trick of ascribing real relevance to that lesson is overcome, it's still a crap-shoot--relevance being a slippery fish.   But when we empower students, we shift the locus of power.  It's not easy.  The work required to establish the ground for such open exploration that remains rigorous and meaningful is akin to a tightrope walk...and just as thrilling. 

Blogging with Blogger--Getting Bogged Down in the Blogger-sphere

So actually getting your blog to look nice and organized isn't as easy a process as it should be.  But it is what it is, so here's the skinny on that:

1) go to your blog and add a new post

2) Call this post "20Time 2016"

3) Type a quick sentence to start.

4) On the right hand side of the editing page where you are, click on the little "label" tab.

5) Add the label "20Time"

6) Click "Done" under the label box.

7) Click on "Publish" above the "labels" tag

8) click on "View Blog"

9) At the top right of your Nav bar, click on "Design"

10) At the left hand side, click on "layout"  This will show you your blog's layout.  Look for a bar going across that allows you to "add a Gadget"

11) Click "Add a Gadget" and scroll down to the "labels" gadget and add it.

12)  Update your blog and then view it.  You should see a label across the top of the blog, under your blog's main title, with the word "20Time" in it.  If you click it, you should see your Post, "20Time 2016."

13) Scream for me if this doesn't work.

One More List...

End of the year, End of my links for best books of the year.

Here's the last list.  

Easily, the one book I've seen on more lists than any other this year?

H is for Hawk.

Read it, read 'em all.   Just read!

Books that defy genres: "Slipstream" novels

Some wonderfully enticing books on this list.  I need more time!  More time!

11 Novels So Amazing, You Can't Tell What Genre They Are

The NPR Book Concierge

This is a hugely great app and a fun and informative way to find books you like:

http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2015/

Great List of Books of the Year.

Dan Pink is one of my favorite authors on the topic of creativity and motivation.  Here's his list of top 10 books of the year.  Definitely putting some of these on my own list.

MY 10 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR Okay, every other “media outlet” is assembling its end-of-year best books list. Why not the Pink newsletter?  Herewith, in alphabetical order by author, the 10 most compelling books I read this year.   The Light of the World: A Memoir by Elizabeth Alexander In 1996, Alexander, a well-known poet, met Ficre Ghebreyesus, a chef originally from Eritrea. Within a few weeks, they decided to get married. Within three years, they had two sons. Then in 2012, Ficre dropped dead of a heart attack. Alexander’s account of her grief is riveting. I read nearly the entire book in one sitting.  Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Justice by Adam Benforado Law professor Benforado argues that our legal system is built on assumptions about human behavior that just aren’t true.  Some examples: Eyewitness testimony is utterly unreliable, yet we use it to convict people. Human beings stink at detecting lies, yet jurors think they’re great at it. And, amazingly, false confessions are quite easy to produce. This book deserved way more attention than it received.  Friend & Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both by Adam Galinsky and Maurice Schweitzer You might remember this one from the 4Q4 this duo did for this newsletter. This is a smart, practical book that lives up to its promise to help you become “a better friend and more formidable foe." Fates and Furies  by Lauren Groff Whenever a book gets as much acclaim as this one — glowing reviews, a National Book Award nomination, even a Presidential endorsement — I become a bit skeptical. But this fast-paced literary novel, which tells the story of a marriage from two contrasting perspectives, deserves every plaudit. It’s gobsmackingly good.  How to Raise An Adult  by Julie Lythcott-Haims Another 4Q4 book. Former Stanford Dean of Freshmen Lythcott-Haims aims her howitzer at helicopter parents — and teaches us how to trust our kids.  The Road Not Taken: Finding America in the Poem Everyone Loves and Almost Everyone Gets Wrong by David Orr You wouldn’t think an book-length dissection of Robert Frost’s “two roads diverged in a yellow wood” poem would be a great read. But Orr’s book is a gem — wise, funny, and insightful. Are You Fully Charged?: The 3 Keys to Energizing Your Work and Life by Tom Rath This slim book packs a massive punch. Rath, who has a string of culture-shifting bestsellers, harvests a trove of science to explain the importance of pursuing meaning, improving your interactions, and taking common-sense steps to boost your energy.  Infamy: The Shocking Story of Japanese American Internment in World War II  by Richard Reeves Shortly after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor 50 years ago, the U.S. government rounded up more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans and incarcerated them at "relocation centers.” This remains one of the most disgraceful episodes in American history. I read this back in April, but Reeves’s elegantly told tale has new relevance today as some of the very same xenophobia and racism rear their heads again.  The Arab of the Future: 1978 to 1984 by Riad Sattouf Young Riad has a French mother, a Syrian father, and a head of shockingly blond hair. In this graphic novel he tells the story of his early childhood. Fans of Persepolis will love this one.   The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics by Barton Swaim A regular guy leaves academia to become a speechwriter for the Governor of South Carolina. Complications ensue. This chronicle — at once hilarious and sad — is the best book on politics I’ve read in years.

Welcome....Perhaps you'd like a book?

All, this section of my class blog will be for books.  Book recommendations, book reviews, book covers, booking flights...we'll, ok, not that.  So, you get it.

Let's start here.  Most of you are pretty advanced readers, so this list from Buzzfeed is a good place to get some great recommendations, modern classics as well as recently released books.

I'm going to go out and say, while I've not yet read the book, the Ta-Nehisi Coates book has got to be outstanding.  I've read a number of his pieces in The Atlantic (see this one for example) and he's just so good.  I mean, if you like non-fiction where the voice is strong, perceptive, backed up by evidence...you know, just solid essay writing.  Start with Coates.  Please.