Category Archives: Classroom

Teaching film with high school students

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Abner Oakes

My son and I watched High Noon last weekend, our second time, and there’s so much packed into that short film: the great performances and characters, the camera work, its message on McCarthyism. He and I always have a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom, Teachers, Teaching | Tagged alex o'flinn, alfred hitchcock, barton fink, casablanca, celine and julie go boating, david thomson, eraserhead, high noon, jaws, Manohla Gargis, psycho, red river, shoot the moon, teaching film, tommy, ty burr | 2 Comments

The flipped classroom

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Abner Oakes

Back in November, I wrote in this post about the use of technology in elementary schools – or the lack of use – and this video, while about high school, has got me thinking again about technology and its effective … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom, School, School district, Teachers, Teaching | Tagged camtasia, dead poets society, flipped classroom, innovation zone, izone, learning point associates, robin williams, school of one, science leadership academy, technology, unbundled education, university of northern colorado | 1 Comment

Having an edge: Vibrant school culture

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Abner Oakes

I was a college counselor for several years, and one of the things that we talked about when we talked about counseling kids was the issue of “edges.” What edges did young people have that might lift them out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom, Principal, School, Teachers | Tagged casey carter, charter school, core ideology, craig jerald, school culture | 4 Comments

Higher level thinking in high school Spanish

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Abner Oakes

I got a great long note from my former student Maija Langeland Scarpaci, who taught high school Spanish for several years. Let me just move aside and let her do the talking: During my last teaching job, I taught the … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom, School, Teachers, Teaching | Tagged advanced placement, bloom's taxonomy, boston college, cervantes, dario, effective questioning, garcia marquez, iep, spanish | Leave a comment

Rigor and asking good questions

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Abner Oakes

I’ve been thinking about rigor these past few weeks, as I’ve had the chance to be in schools and classrooms – always a treat. Just what constitutes rigor in the classroom? What does it mean for students to step up … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom, School, Teachers, Teaching | Tagged bloom's taxonomy, effective questioning, exit pass, exit slip, exit ticket, Modern Red SchoolHouse, questions, rigor, think time, wait time | Leave a comment

Mathematics musings: the Common Core, algebra, and instruction

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Abner Oakes

I got math on the brain. Scary, I know, for an old English teacher. It started when a friend tweeted this article about a charter school in San Diego that had revamped its math curriculum so that their kids would … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom, Federal policy, School district, Teachers, Teaching | Tagged algebra, center on education policy, Common Core State Standards, denise mewborn, einstein academy, Jon Star, K-12 Mathematics Joint Work Group, mathematics, montgomery county, National Mathematics Advisory Panel, san diego unified school district | Leave a comment