A little boy is going to school when he is stopped by a stranger. The stranger tells the little boy, when his teacher asks him why he is late, just say willytop. The boy looks at the stranger oddly, but proceeds to go to school.
He arrives five minutes late, and his teacher isn’t that happy. His teacher asks him why he is late. All the boy says is willytop. The teacher looks at him horrified, and sends him to the office.
The boy arrives in the principal’s office, and the principal asks him why he was sent down. All the boy said was willytop. The Principal was so horrified that he expelled the boy from school.
The boy went home, to find his parents in the living. They told the boy they knew he was expelled, but they wanted to know why. All the boy said was willytop. The parents were so horrified by this that they kicked him out of the house.
The boy is now walking to dark town streets, when he is stopped by a cop. The cop asks him why he is walking the streets alone. All the boy says is willytop. The cop is so disgusted, that he kicks the boy out of town.
The boy is now sitting in a bar, and the bartender asks him why he is alone. All the boy said was willytop. The bartender looked at him horrified, but before the bartender could say anything, the boy says “Please sir, I was kicked out of school, my house, and even my hometown because of willytop. What does it mean sir?” The bartender nods, and tells the boy to come with him across the street, because if he tells him in the bar, the other people may get mad.
The boy and the bartender are across the street from the bar. The bartender opens his mouth, but before he could speak, a drunk driver hits them both.
2/3/09
1/25/09
Approaches to learning: a guide for teachers
Despite its more general title and approach, this is a fabulous book for higher education, and possibly as a text for graduate certificates or similar in higher education, and includes a useful glossary in the back. The book provides a well-balanced survey of key theories and a solid foundation for teaching approaches for a wide range of purposes, not only for the individual teacher but internal and external stakeholders as well. Too often we encounter conflicting orientations which are not identified but can prove to be particularly confusing and frustrating most especially for academic staff within academic development programs trying to ‘figure out what it all means’. In the introduction the authors state: The educator’s role as a facilitator of student learning is dependent upon the theory of learning held. The educator’s views may form a coherent whole; alternatively they may hold scraps of incompatible theory. It is important not to have principles which clash, so bringing them to light will help in their organization so that they can be used more consciously to engage in ongoing inquiry. (p. 1)
The book brings together much of the key writing on education from various disciplinary backgrounds rather than exploring new territory. Chapter structure is well designed and set out. A major strength is the way the authors identify strengths and weaknesses of various perspectives. This is also very useful and helps to ‘provide protection from unproven and faddish ideas’ (p. 1).
The book begins with comprehensive, yet easy to understand discussions of educational philosophy, key psychological theories as well as sociological. Like many others it focuses predominantly on western culture. The chapter on social learning includes both perspectives. The approach provides very useful brief historical background, so we can appreciate the development of certain movements and thinking.
The authors point out, for example: For behaviourists, learning is conditioned individual response to stimuli; for cognitivists, it is the individual application of mental processes; for constructivists, it revolves around the construction of meaning. For social learning theorists however, learning is the product of shared experiences in a range of social settings. (p. 79)
This is very important for designing approaches, curriculum planning and assessment. There are 17 chapters in the book, which for me is too many and I would rather have seen some collapsed.
Student centred learning is referred to in various parts of the book. However, my experience is that there seems to be widespread misunderstanding of the concept among academic staff and so it might have been useful to devote a chapter to this topic, given the prominence of the approach in many universities.
The section on the origins of adult education in Chapter 9 may have been better organised around the four recurrent themes identified in the summary at the end (p. 136). This section just did not seem as smooth as some of the others. I also found the section on critical thinking too brief and there was a mismatch between that section and the summary in terms of organisation. There was room for expansion of this important chapter, especially in relation to the assumptions around student evaluations given the prominence of such evaluations in contemporary higher education and the many years that have passed since Brookfield published his work. The possibility for misuse or misunderstanding of evaluations exists in the competitive higher education environment at the individual and organizational level. As Jordan, Carlile and Stack write in relation to Brookfield’s work, ‘hegemonic assumptions are promoted by powerful interests to protect the status quo, and are internalized by teachers. They include the assumptions that:
? teaching is a vocation that often leads to teacher ‘burn-out’;
? teachers need to be rated as ‘excellent’ in student evaluations (very much a North American concern); and
? good teachers will be able to meet all of their students’ needs all of the time’ (pp. 132–133).
Readers need a better understanding of this and an expansion of the place of power structures would have been very helpful. I also found introduction of new concepts in the section titled ‘Instrumental approaches to adult learning’ (e.g. work-based learning, p. 139) that were not necessarily examined in the chapter. I would have liked to see the authors tackle in greater depth the issue of adult education in relation to the earlier chapter on stages of development and the variety of ages among students in the modern university. For example, difference (or not) between the entering 18-year-old school leavers and the various categories of ‘mature-age’ students, including those pursuing new career direction, and post-retirement students. What might this mean for curriculum in the contemporary university?
The chapter on motivation is excellent with a very useful summary towards the end of the chapter under the heading of ‘Educational implications of motivation theory’. This summary relates to many other aspects and would form a very useful framework for initial training or development for academic staff in higher education, especially tutors and sessional staff. In contrast, however, I found Chapter 12, titled ‘The learning body’, a little dull and less useful for those of us in higher education. Something more on psychological and physical health and some of the issues that teachers should be aware of might have been more useful.
After reading this book, one issue that emerged for me is what may perhaps be a gap in research related to higher education in the current context – a context that is significantly different to, say, 20 years ago. I would really like to see a revised version of this book in the future that is dedicated to higher education because I feel that there are so many sections of this book that are extremely well written, and in ways that so many others are not.
You can buy this book on amazon
The book brings together much of the key writing on education from various disciplinary backgrounds rather than exploring new territory. Chapter structure is well designed and set out. A major strength is the way the authors identify strengths and weaknesses of various perspectives. This is also very useful and helps to ‘provide protection from unproven and faddish ideas’ (p. 1).
The book begins with comprehensive, yet easy to understand discussions of educational philosophy, key psychological theories as well as sociological. Like many others it focuses predominantly on western culture. The chapter on social learning includes both perspectives. The approach provides very useful brief historical background, so we can appreciate the development of certain movements and thinking.
The authors point out, for example: For behaviourists, learning is conditioned individual response to stimuli; for cognitivists, it is the individual application of mental processes; for constructivists, it revolves around the construction of meaning. For social learning theorists however, learning is the product of shared experiences in a range of social settings. (p. 79)
This is very important for designing approaches, curriculum planning and assessment. There are 17 chapters in the book, which for me is too many and I would rather have seen some collapsed.
Student centred learning is referred to in various parts of the book. However, my experience is that there seems to be widespread misunderstanding of the concept among academic staff and so it might have been useful to devote a chapter to this topic, given the prominence of the approach in many universities.
The section on the origins of adult education in Chapter 9 may have been better organised around the four recurrent themes identified in the summary at the end (p. 136). This section just did not seem as smooth as some of the others. I also found the section on critical thinking too brief and there was a mismatch between that section and the summary in terms of organisation. There was room for expansion of this important chapter, especially in relation to the assumptions around student evaluations given the prominence of such evaluations in contemporary higher education and the many years that have passed since Brookfield published his work. The possibility for misuse or misunderstanding of evaluations exists in the competitive higher education environment at the individual and organizational level. As Jordan, Carlile and Stack write in relation to Brookfield’s work, ‘hegemonic assumptions are promoted by powerful interests to protect the status quo, and are internalized by teachers. They include the assumptions that:
? teaching is a vocation that often leads to teacher ‘burn-out’;
? teachers need to be rated as ‘excellent’ in student evaluations (very much a North American concern); and
? good teachers will be able to meet all of their students’ needs all of the time’ (pp. 132–133).
Readers need a better understanding of this and an expansion of the place of power structures would have been very helpful. I also found introduction of new concepts in the section titled ‘Instrumental approaches to adult learning’ (e.g. work-based learning, p. 139) that were not necessarily examined in the chapter. I would have liked to see the authors tackle in greater depth the issue of adult education in relation to the earlier chapter on stages of development and the variety of ages among students in the modern university. For example, difference (or not) between the entering 18-year-old school leavers and the various categories of ‘mature-age’ students, including those pursuing new career direction, and post-retirement students. What might this mean for curriculum in the contemporary university?
The chapter on motivation is excellent with a very useful summary towards the end of the chapter under the heading of ‘Educational implications of motivation theory’. This summary relates to many other aspects and would form a very useful framework for initial training or development for academic staff in higher education, especially tutors and sessional staff. In contrast, however, I found Chapter 12, titled ‘The learning body’, a little dull and less useful for those of us in higher education. Something more on psychological and physical health and some of the issues that teachers should be aware of might have been more useful.
After reading this book, one issue that emerged for me is what may perhaps be a gap in research related to higher education in the current context – a context that is significantly different to, say, 20 years ago. I would really like to see a revised version of this book in the future that is dedicated to higher education because I feel that there are so many sections of this book that are extremely well written, and in ways that so many others are not.
You can buy this book on amazon
11/21/08
"Love God and do what you want." - St. Augustine
The above quote is one of the guiding principles of my life. You might even call it my "life verse," even though I know it's sacrilegious to have a life verse that's not from the Bible. At the heart of this quote is a beautiful little something called providence.
You see, I believe that God gives us the freedom to live whatever the heck kind of life we want to live, and that no matter what choice we make, God will be there, and He will bless us and make us a blessing. Obviously, I'm not talking about the freedom to sin. I'm referring to those amoral situations in which both choices are feasible for us as Christians. For example, why are Jane and I serving in this country, and not the country to the north of us, or why not Germany or Ecuador or Nigeria? To be frank - because we wanted to! To claim that God would want us to be in a specific country would imply that we would be sinning - SINNING! - if we served as missionaries in another country. I can already see us at the Pearly Gates:
God: Well, Joe and Jane, I see here that you served as missionaries for 35 years. You were faithful in your ministry, you served with all our strength, and even when you retired, you still went back there twice a year to continue encouraging the believers there.
Joe: Happy to be of service, Sir. Or is it Your Lordship? Abba? I'm sorry, I'm still not sure what to call you.
God: Never mind that. My point is, I wanted you in Spain! BAD missionary. BAD! No soup for you! NEXT!
This applies to anything in life: If you claim that God wants you to pick choice A over choice B, then you are sinning if you choose choice B. I pity the person who prays to God for guidance as to which outfit or suit to wear each day!
No, no, my friends - we are free! We don't have to live a life of uncertainty, fretting over every little decision. James tells us that if we need wisdom, we should "ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (Jas 1:5). So pray for wisdom, trust that God has given it to you, and make your decision! George MacDonald also said something that works in harmony with the Augustine quote above: "The birth of action is the beginning of the death of doubt." When you move forward, you will get an idea whether or not your current course of action is best. Trust that God has given you His wisdom, and enjoy being free!
You see, I believe that God gives us the freedom to live whatever the heck kind of life we want to live, and that no matter what choice we make, God will be there, and He will bless us and make us a blessing. Obviously, I'm not talking about the freedom to sin. I'm referring to those amoral situations in which both choices are feasible for us as Christians. For example, why are Jane and I serving in this country, and not the country to the north of us, or why not Germany or Ecuador or Nigeria? To be frank - because we wanted to! To claim that God would want us to be in a specific country would imply that we would be sinning - SINNING! - if we served as missionaries in another country. I can already see us at the Pearly Gates:
God: Well, Joe and Jane, I see here that you served as missionaries for 35 years. You were faithful in your ministry, you served with all our strength, and even when you retired, you still went back there twice a year to continue encouraging the believers there.
Joe: Happy to be of service, Sir. Or is it Your Lordship? Abba? I'm sorry, I'm still not sure what to call you.
God: Never mind that. My point is, I wanted you in Spain! BAD missionary. BAD! No soup for you! NEXT!
This applies to anything in life: If you claim that God wants you to pick choice A over choice B, then you are sinning if you choose choice B. I pity the person who prays to God for guidance as to which outfit or suit to wear each day!
No, no, my friends - we are free! We don't have to live a life of uncertainty, fretting over every little decision. James tells us that if we need wisdom, we should "ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (Jas 1:5). So pray for wisdom, trust that God has given it to you, and make your decision! George MacDonald also said something that works in harmony with the Augustine quote above: "The birth of action is the beginning of the death of doubt." When you move forward, you will get an idea whether or not your current course of action is best. Trust that God has given you His wisdom, and enjoy being free!
11/17/08
10/31/08
New Airline Rules
To cover the rising fuel costs:
Attendant: Welcome aboard Ala Carte Air, sir. May I see your ticket?
Passenger: Sure.
Attendant: You're in seat 12B. That will be $5, please!
Passenger: What for?
Attendant: For telling you where to sit.
Passenger: But I already knew where to sit.
Attendant: Nevertheless, we are now charging a seat locator fee of $5. It's the airline's new policy.
Passenger: That's the craziest thing I ever heard. I won't pay it.
Attendant: Sir, do you want a seat on this flight, or not?
Passenger: Yes, yes. All right, I'll pay. But the airline is going to hear about this.
Attendant: Thank you. My goodness, your carry-on bag looks heavy. Would you like me to stow it in the overhead compartment for you?
Passenger: That would be swell, thanks.
Attendant: No problem. Up we go, and done! That will be $10, please.
Passenger: What?
Attendant: The airline now charges a $10 carry-on assistance fee.
Passenger: This is extortion. I won't stand for it.
Attendant: Actually, you're right, you can't stand. You need to sit, and fasten your seat belt. We're about to push back from the gate. But, first I need that $10.
Passenger: No way!
Attendant: Sir, if you don't comply, I will be forced to call the air marshal. And you really don't want me to do that.
Passenger: Why not? Is he going to shoot me?
Attendant: No, but there's a $50 air-marshal hailing fee.
Passenger: Oh, all right, here, take the $10. I can't believe this.
Attendant: Thank you for your cooperation, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?
Passenger: Yes. It's stuffy in here, and my overhead fan doesn't seem to work. Can you fix it?
Attendant: Your overhead fan is not broken, sir. Just insert two quarters into the overhead coin slot for the first five minutes.
Passenger: The airline is charging me for cabin air?
Attendant: Of course not, sir. Stagnant cabin air is provided free of charge. It's the circulating air that costs 50 cents.
Passenger: I don't have any quarters. Can you make change for a dollar?
Attendant: Certainly, sir! Here you go!
Passenger: But you've given me only three quarters for my dollar.
Attendant: Yes, there's a change-making fee of 25 cents.
Passenger: For cryin' out loud. All I have left is a lousy quarter? What the heck can I do with this?
Attendant: Hang onto it. You'll need it later for the lavatory.
Attendant: Welcome aboard Ala Carte Air, sir. May I see your ticket?
Passenger: Sure.
Attendant: You're in seat 12B. That will be $5, please!
Passenger: What for?
Attendant: For telling you where to sit.
Passenger: But I already knew where to sit.
Attendant: Nevertheless, we are now charging a seat locator fee of $5. It's the airline's new policy.
Passenger: That's the craziest thing I ever heard. I won't pay it.
Attendant: Sir, do you want a seat on this flight, or not?
Passenger: Yes, yes. All right, I'll pay. But the airline is going to hear about this.
Attendant: Thank you. My goodness, your carry-on bag looks heavy. Would you like me to stow it in the overhead compartment for you?
Passenger: That would be swell, thanks.
Attendant: No problem. Up we go, and done! That will be $10, please.
Passenger: What?
Attendant: The airline now charges a $10 carry-on assistance fee.
Passenger: This is extortion. I won't stand for it.
Attendant: Actually, you're right, you can't stand. You need to sit, and fasten your seat belt. We're about to push back from the gate. But, first I need that $10.
Passenger: No way!
Attendant: Sir, if you don't comply, I will be forced to call the air marshal. And you really don't want me to do that.
Passenger: Why not? Is he going to shoot me?
Attendant: No, but there's a $50 air-marshal hailing fee.
Passenger: Oh, all right, here, take the $10. I can't believe this.
Attendant: Thank you for your cooperation, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?
Passenger: Yes. It's stuffy in here, and my overhead fan doesn't seem to work. Can you fix it?
Attendant: Your overhead fan is not broken, sir. Just insert two quarters into the overhead coin slot for the first five minutes.
Passenger: The airline is charging me for cabin air?
Attendant: Of course not, sir. Stagnant cabin air is provided free of charge. It's the circulating air that costs 50 cents.
Passenger: I don't have any quarters. Can you make change for a dollar?
Attendant: Certainly, sir! Here you go!
Passenger: But you've given me only three quarters for my dollar.
Attendant: Yes, there's a change-making fee of 25 cents.
Passenger: For cryin' out loud. All I have left is a lousy quarter? What the heck can I do with this?
Attendant: Hang onto it. You'll need it later for the lavatory.
10/21/08
The Teacher
A teacher in a one-room schoolhouse arrives one morning to find a
nice red apple on her desk with a tag tied to it saying T.O.T. Knowing
that she had some not-so-nice pranksters in her class, she cautiously
asked 'Can someone explain what T.O.T. means?' Mary in the front row
raised her hand to explain it means 'To Our Teacher.'
The next morning the teacher finds a bigger and prettier apple than
the day before. This time there is a tag with T.O.T.W.L. written on
it. She asks for an explanation for this note and little Johnny waves
his hand to explain 'That means 'To Our Teacher With Love'.
The next morning she arrives to find a great big watermelon sitting on
her desk with a tag saying 'F.U.C.K.' Her jaw drops and she screams
'Who can explain this?'
Little Buckwheat in the back row raises his hand and says, that means
'From Us Colored Kids'
nice red apple on her desk with a tag tied to it saying T.O.T. Knowing
that she had some not-so-nice pranksters in her class, she cautiously
asked 'Can someone explain what T.O.T. means?' Mary in the front row
raised her hand to explain it means 'To Our Teacher.'
The next morning the teacher finds a bigger and prettier apple than
the day before. This time there is a tag with T.O.T.W.L. written on
it. She asks for an explanation for this note and little Johnny waves
his hand to explain 'That means 'To Our Teacher With Love'.
The next morning she arrives to find a great big watermelon sitting on
her desk with a tag saying 'F.U.C.K.' Her jaw drops and she screams
'Who can explain this?'
Little Buckwheat in the back row raises his hand and says, that means
'From Us Colored Kids'
10/17/08
Fruit and Fibre
Ah, the joys of parenthood...One particular story concerning my young son that I know will destroy any cockiness in his teenage years, was as follows...Just me and the 2 year old staying at home one day, when I notice the tell-tale niff of nappy filling activity, and look round to see the boy curling off a 'right head-shaker'. Disgruntled that his Mum had gone out before this event, I steeled myself for the necessary nappy change, and put my son in position on his bed.
Popping open the Pampers, I notice that the Tom Tit is as dry as a bone, and looks like a bag of dark brown marbles. Nice. I pick up said soiled nappy, lob it in the bin, turn around and see my boy sitting up straight, looking relieved, naturally. Then, in a horrifying slo-mo moment, I see him look down, and reach for a small poo pebble that had rolled of the nappy, mid-change. Before I could stop him or scream 'Nooooo', he cheerfully said 'RAISIN!' and promptly bit into his own excrement.
Funnily enough, he wasn't impressed with the taste and instantly gobbed it out onto the duvet.
I've now got the perfect retort if ever he ever 'talks shit'...
Popping open the Pampers, I notice that the Tom Tit is as dry as a bone, and looks like a bag of dark brown marbles. Nice. I pick up said soiled nappy, lob it in the bin, turn around and see my boy sitting up straight, looking relieved, naturally. Then, in a horrifying slo-mo moment, I see him look down, and reach for a small poo pebble that had rolled of the nappy, mid-change. Before I could stop him or scream 'Nooooo', he cheerfully said 'RAISIN!' and promptly bit into his own excrement.
Funnily enough, he wasn't impressed with the taste and instantly gobbed it out onto the duvet.
I've now got the perfect retort if ever he ever 'talks shit'...
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