Fortune Cookies Don't Lie

Taking a break from the mad race to meet final exam deadlines, I stopped at a Chinese restaurant for a quick bite to eat and a bit of green tea. When I broke open my fortune cookie I found the following gem. How eerily prophetic!

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

-- Robert Frost

The Final Push

Final exams are rapidly approaching, and my anxiety levels have begun to escalate!

Memories of a Teacher

Listen to a Former Student Recall Her Teacher

A Voice From the Past

In the excerpt provided below, a former student recalls the one-room school he attended in the early 1930s. The school, which is depicted in the accompanying photographs, has long since fallen prey to the ravages of time. In an effort to highlight the changes that have occurred in the past seventy-five years, I chose to depict the school as I saw it on a cold, rainy day in April. As I stood and listened to him describe his experiences as a young child attending school within these walls, I could not help but sense the presence of long forgotten ghosts. As you reflect on the combination of photographs and audio, I hope you are able to accompany me on a similar journey into the past.

Listen to a Former Student Describe This One-Room School

Going to School

Listen to a Former Student Describe Her Journey to School

A Window to the Past

Dear Reader,

Despite the fact that a great deal of literature has been written to describe the role one-room schools played in the education of rural students, the treatment given the subject has often resulted in the creation of a binary. One set of accounts, told from the point of view of school officials, portray the one-room school as the purveyor of Protestant ethics, and a testament to the prosperity of rural communities. Literature of this sort might recount long walks to school through rolling green pastures, or pretty, young schoolmarms who were entrusted with the responsibility of introducing their charges to the “Three R’s.” Rarely is the quality of education offered in the one-room school called into question. Rather, it is taken for granted.

A second account presents a starkly different view. Advanced by early twentieth century reformers, it describes an institution characterized by scant material resources and substandard pedagogy. Poorly heated and dimly lit, the one-room school was cast as a breeding ground for illness. Reformers accused teachers of being poorly trained and undereducated, and refused to believe they were capable of providing rural students with the caliber of instruction offered in more progressive, urban schools. As a result, they campaigned fervently for the one-room school's closure.

All too often the history of one-room schools has been told from the perspective of school administrators and reformers. Seldom have writers depicted the institutions from the vantage point of those who attended them. In an effort to do so, I spent the winter and spring of 2005 traveling throughout the state of Ohio to collect the oral life histories of men and women who attended one-room schools in the first half of the twentieth century. By documenting their stories, I hoped to contribute to the development of an important chapter in American education. Though challenging at times, my experiences in the field proved to be incredibly rewarding.


As the product of a modern day educational bureaucracy, I found the portrait of schools that emerged from the stories I heard rather foreign. I suspect the same would hold true for most modern readers. As such, I have chosen to share with you an image of teaching and learning that you may not recognize.

Over the course of the next three days I will present a portrait of one-room schools as they would have looked to those who attended them. To do so, I plan to employ a variety of compositional mediums, including text, photography, and audio. My decision to integrate these mediums is a result of my desire to share with you, as closely as possible, the stories as I heard them. Several of the people I interviewed shared photographs from their pasts. In many instances they depicted the schools they attended, along with former classmates, teachers, and friends. Others brought me to see their former schools. Long since abandoned, they sat in empty fields that stood adjacent to well traveled highways. As I stood and looked at them, I could not help but imagine what my guides, now elderly men and women, must have looked like when they roamed those same fields as children so many years ago. I chose to share these photographs with you in conjuction with audio clips borrowed from the interviews I conducted. The ability to honor my informants' voices in such a manner is important to me. I hope my efforts to do so will have done them justice.

I hope you enjoy the following montage. By integrating this mix of mediums, it is my intention to provide you with a window to the past, one through which I have been fortunate enough to look.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

What a nice change of pace! For the first time in a long while I was able to slow down and spend time with my wife. I used the day to watch football games, grade papers, and work on my final exams. Despite the cold weather, my wife and I took our dogs for a three mile run through the city. Later in the day we sat down to an incredible Thanksgiving dinner, one that exceeded my expectations. In short, the day provided a welcome break from our normal routines.

For this, I was truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Double Speak

As I noted in a previous post, I spent the past weekend in Pittsburgh where I attended an academic conference. Stepping out for a coffee on Sunday morning, I couldn't help but notice the headlines of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Titled "Murtha puts war at top of agenda in House," the article explored the controversy created by Rep. John P. Murtha, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and former Marine, who on Friday, November 18th called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. As I stood at the counter, coffee in hand, examining the story, I wondered how long it would take before the GOP launched the first wave of slanderous attacks. Little did I know they had already begun.

Following Murtha's speech on Friday, Jean Schmidt, a Congresswoman from Ohio, fired the first volley. In a speech delivered on the House floor, Schmidt had the following to say:

Listen to Linda

Schmidt later returned to the House floor to have her remarks stricken from the record. Incredibly, she had the following to say:

Mr. Speaker, my remarks were not directed to any member of the House and I did not intend to suggest they applied to any member, most especially the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Hold the presses! She didn't "intend to suggest that [her comments] applied to any member of the House?" Let's revisit her remarks for a moment:

He [Danny Bubp] also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do.

This is exactly what concerns me about the state of affairs in this country. Somehow, members of the GOP have been allowed to cast spurious allegations for which they are seldom (if ever) held accountable. Be it the Swift Boat ads or Schmidt's more recent comments, the GOP has been allowed to wage a carefully orchestrated campaign designed to destroy the reputations of anyone who opposes the current Administration's policies. Even when they are required to issue an apology, it seldom matters. The damage has already been done. Most frightening is the realization that things will get worse before they get better. George Orwell must be tossing in his grave.

A Tribute to the Turkey

For whatever reason, I have suddenly begun to come across a series of humorous websites. The following link, provided in recognition of the upcoming holiday, leads to a "singing turkey." That's right! A singing turkey! Only in America would such a thing be possible. It's actually worth the visit.

A Lonely Fan

I've lived in Ohio for little more than a year now, and have yet to grow accustomed to the state's disdain for its neighbor to the north. One can't help but pity the poor child who grows up rooting for Michigan as a resident of the Buckeye state.


Disclaimer: No students were traumatized by the taking of this photograph.

Posting In Pittsburgh

For the past two days I have been in Pittsburgh attending the annual NCTE convention. This morning I presented a paper, my first, which was quite an experience. Though I was nervous at the time, I enjoyed the experience considerably. The feedback I received was helpful, and the experience undoubtedly contributed to my growth as a graduate student. It was interesting to read my peers' work, and talk with them about it. If nothing else, doing so allowed me to situate my own work in relation to that of other graduate students, which was helpful.

Though I stayed relatively busy, I was able to take some time to see the city (a first), and I was actually quite impressed. It had a more urban feel than I expected, and the architectural designs of several older buildings were absolutely stunning. Many of the buildings were decorated with gargoyles and other strange creatures, which was interesting as well. I suspect that it would be quite enlightening to tour the city with an architect.

In addition to its fine buildings, the city provided a host of activities, including theatre, music, professional sports, and ethnic dining. At one point I happened to stroll by PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, which sits on the banks of the Allegheny River. It offered beautiful views of the city's skyline, and would appear to be well worth the visit.

All in all the trip was an enjoyable one. It's always fun to visit a new city, and Pittsburgh definitely did not disappoint.

Dancing With Glee

Despite the fact that the scandals continue to mount, it appears that the Bush Administration will once again go unscathed. One can only imagine the mirth that must be felt in the White House. On such occasions I have no alternative but to resort to petty amusements. Follow the link and watch George celebrate! Oh, the depths to which this liberal has sunk!

Celebrity Blogging

Today's post represents my initial foray into the world of "celebrity blogging." While attending the Ohio State-Northwestern football game Saturday afternoon, my wife and I happened to come across Mr. Jerry Springer. Carrying a digital camera with me, I sprang into action. While my wife and Jerry talked about his interest in the Buckeyes, I took the following picture for my blog. Though she pitched him the idea of devoting an episode of his television show to "Late Night Graduate Student Bloggers," he didn't seem to think the subject would earn high ratings. Oh, well! There's always Oprah!

Institutionalizing the Blog

In this morning's class we discussed the effects that instituionalizing the blog might have on genre. A question asked was, "How do we imagine a way to study blogs not colonized by the dominant culture?" When I ran across the following article, "Blogging 101--Web logs go to school," I had to post it. The article, written by Alorie Gilbert, appeared on MSN's homepage this morning, and addressed several themes that we have explored throughout the quarter. As a former high school teacher, I shudder to think what some of my former colleagues will do with (and to) the blog.

Blogging 101--Web logs go to school
Last modified: October 17, 2005, 4:00 AM PDT
By Alorie Gilbert Staff Writer, CNET News.com

As a middle-school teacher, Clarence Fisher is used to spending some time each evening grading papers and reviewing lesson plans. But this year he's got an additional after-school task: updating his students' blogs.

Fisher set up online personal journals--Web logs or blogs--this fall for each of his students at Joseph H. Kerr School in the Canadian town of Snow Lake, Manitoba. His combined seventh- and eighth-grade class generates about a dozen entries a day on topics ranging from classroom assignments to weekend plans, which Fisher reviews before posting online.

He's more than glad to do it. Like other teachers bringing blogging into the classroom, he thinks the online journals will spark students' enthusiasm for computers, writing and opining.

"They're learning the technical skills, but they're also learning that they have a voice online," he said. "They may be from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, but they're writing online, people are commenting on it, and they're learning that they have a voice."

Fisher is among a small but growing number of teachers and professors experimenting with classroom blogs. The exact number is hard to pin down but it's well into the thousands, said Will Richardson, author of "An Educator's Guide to Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Cool New Web Tools that are Transforming the Classroom," which is set for publication next year.

Richardson is also supervisor of instructional technology and communications at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, N.J., where at least 10 percent of the teachers have worked blogging into their lesson plan. It's taken a while for the concept to catch on, though. Hunterdon began its first classroom blog about four years ago.

"I think that blogs have a bad reputation," Richardson said. "People think of them as online journals or diaries, but they are much more than that. They are learning tools."

Take Hillary Meeler's group of fifth-graders at J.H. House Elementary in the Atlanta suburb of Conyers. Every Thursday morning, the students spend two hours writing about current events on their blogs. Meeler, an instructional technology specialist, asks them to choose topics from CNN's student news program and use writing skills they're learning in English class.

The kids love having an audience, she said. Parents, teachers, students and sometimes complete strangers from as far away as Brazil will respond to the blogs with comments. And depending on the tools they're using, student bloggers can track how many times people have clicked on their entries. In an effort to build a following, they often clean up their grammar, stretch their vocabulary and generally write more creatively, Meeler said. "They take a lot of pride in it," she said. "They have to write a title that gets attention, or people won't leave comments or come back."

The students seem to have no shortage of material for their blogs, tapping their daily lives, the news and the blogosphere for inspiration. Some, including Jay Nieves, even write poetry.

The sophomore at East Side Community High School in New York City began blogging last year and now does it almost every day in his New Journalism class. He said he's hooked and will probably keep blogging after he graduates. "It's part of my life," Nieves said.

Jose Bernal, a senior at Galileo Academy of Science and Technology in San Francisco, blogs for his American Democracy class. He's one of about 60 students participating in a blog with a neighboring high school. Bernal is especially keen on reading and commenting on other students' entries about topics like racism and abortion. "I have a lot of strong views on a lot of things," he said. "This gives you a chance to share your views with everyone."

But blogging can also have some negative effects on student prose. An overabundance of acronyms and abbreviations--a kind of Internet shorthand that Fisher calls "MSNisms"--can creep into students' blogs, Fisher said.

While teachers applaud the use of blogs to develop writing skills, they're using them in other areas as well, launching blogs in topics ranging from advanced placement calculus to music theory to Mandarin in an effort to engage and educate.

And just as these blogs run the gamut in terms of subject matter, the way schools handle them, and the degree of teacher control, varies widely. For instance, Meeler lets anyone from the Web surfing public read and comment on her students' blogs. Others, like Fisher, more actively manage them, reviewing all posts and comments before publication. There's also software, including a program called Moodle, for creating password-protected blogs that are walled off from the world beyond the school or classroom.

Protecting children

Concerned about child predators, many teachers require students to use their initials or first names only to identify themselves in their online journals.

Meeler, whose students go by their first names online, has had to remove the occasional mean remark from her class's blog. But she views such incidents as an opportunity to teach the students not to get discouraged. "I can't guarantee they won't see it, but I like to keep it open because that's what blogging is," Meeler said.

Student blogs can also give rise to questions of control. A few weeks ago, one of Fisher's middle school students submitted a blog entry that ranted about a tough night of babysitting. Another wrote about personal troubles with his parents. Fisher didn't publish either one, but discussed the issues openly with his class. Still, he worried about the kids' reaction.

"Will this experience harm the openness and the flow that is developing in their spaces?" he wrote in his own blog. "A fine balancing act will follow in the next few days. I am encouraged tonight after returning from open house at the school to find five new blog posts needing approval; a positive sign that this did not scare them off from writing."

That's why some schools, like Mabry Middle School in Marietta, Ga., view blogs primarily as a tool for teachers to relay information--study guides, handouts and assignments--to students. The exception is the eighth-graders' Sixceed blog, where students collectively post advice for incoming sixth-graders on surviving middle school. Teachers are grappling with how to make the blog, which recently replaced a static Web site, more interactive.

"We plan to add a part to the blog this year where fifth-graders and parents can post their questions and concerns," said Carmen Hartnett, an eighth-grade language arts teacher at Mabry. "But we're trying to deal with how to control it, since we're dealing with schoolchildren."

As more teachers face such questions, technology companies are hoping to step in. ePals Classroom Exchange, which specializes in "school-safe" e-mail and Web browsing, is one of them. The company recently announced plans to develop a student blogging tool, which, among other things, is designed to filter out inappropriate postings.

But if you listen to the pundits, blogs are just the beginning of a bigger push toward more interactive Internet use in schools. Educators are already starting to experiment with podcasting, a technology for creating and distributing free audio programs online, as well as wikis, a type of collaborative online workspace. For some, staying on top of it all while focusing on basic curriculum can be a chore.

"There's a learning curve to all of it," said Romaine Collins, another eighth-grade language arts teacher at Mabry. "It does become overwhelming."

Nice Weather We're Having

After two weeks of cold weather, Mother Nature finally gave us a break. The leaves were at their peak, the temperature was around seventy-five degrees, and the day was dry and pleasant. It was, in short, the perfect fall day. Having spent my morning reading and grading papers, I was ready to leave the house and spend a few hours outside. Fortunately, I had an excuse to do so; I had tickets to one of the season's final football games. Irrational as it may seem, the prospect of sacrificing three hours initially caused me to experience some pangs of guilt. I actually considered forfeiting the tickets to stay home and work. In the end, however, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend time outside. To assuage my guilt, I brought a camera with me and documented the experience for my blog. The afternoon, depicted below in the form of a photo-journal, therefore represented a "field trip" of sorts, one that allowed me to complete some work while spending time outside.

To begin the afternoon, we visited The Four Kegs, a popular pre-game haunt located off campus. Sitting on the patio, we spent our time talking (a rarity given our busy lives) over a cold beer. Cliché as it may seem, the weather was a frequent topic of conversation. It was hard to believe we were able to sit outdoors so comfortably in the first week of November. Though we have lived in Ohio for more than a year now, neither of us has grown accostomed to its long gray winters. I suspect that, on some level, knowing what awaited us only made the day all the more enjoyable.

After leaving The Four Kegs we made our way across campus to the stadium, which apparently qualifies as a modern day din of iniquity. In recent weeks the Religious Right has seemed to make its presence increasingly known at football games. This afternoon, for example, we encountered several individuals along the way who were distributing leaflets that advertised an upcoming religious gathering. Their efforts toward salvation were outdone, however, by an individual who used her afternoon to inform the rest of us that we were destined to spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell. I was curious to know whether Hell had access to college football games, but she was engaged in a fairly heated conversation with another gentleman, and I wasn't able to ask. Leaving to enter the stadium, I could only hope that the Rapture wouldn't take place until the game had ended.

Once inside the stadium we made our way to our seats, which actually aren't that bad. The stadium wasn't as energized as usual, a result, I suppose, of our having learned that we were destined to burn in Hell. Fortunately, when the marching band performed "Script Ohio," our spirits were buoyed.

Though we did win, the game wasn't as exciting as we might have hoped. Our opponent, Illinois, has struggled this season, and this continued to be the case this afternoon. The final score of the game was 40-2. Though the game started at 3:30 in the afternoon, it was dark by the third quarter, a result of the recent change in day light savings time. After the game we returned to our bikes and made the ride back home. Though I have work to catch up on tonight, the afternoon spent at the game was well worth it. If nothing else, it was nice to have the opportunity to take my mind off school and spend time with my wife, something I hadn't done for the past two weeks. It's unfortunate that such opportunities don't present themselves more readily. As I've learned, however, this is a part of life in graduate school.

A Final Thought

So what makes a blog good? In the past few days I have intentionally avoided addressing the more obvious answers to this question. Content matter, for example, would seem to be an obvious choice, as would the frequency with which a writer posts. Still, as I have attempted to show, there are less recognizable strategies that are equally important.

My experiences as a reader have led me to believe that good blogs facilitate an enjoyable reading experience. Banners that incorporate a harmonious mix of imagery, text, and visual design play a significant role in developing a blogger’s identity and can attract the attention of like-minded audiences. The presence of contextual clues can allow readers to interact with posts regardless of their subject matter. Links that require too much work, or that are misleading, can prove frustrating. Links that are precisely worded, however, and that lead directly to referenced sources, promote a more enjoyable reading experience. When these strategies function smoothly, they are likely to go unnoticed. Their absence, on the other hand, can be quite conspicuous.

The Missing Link(s)

Unlike more traditional print forms, blogs have the ability to link their readers directly to source material. As was noted in yesterday’s post, authors routinely use links to familiarize their audiences with issues they plan to address, or document the veracity of their claims. Despite their benefits, links can give rise to certain problems. When readers are forced to meander through multiple links in search of material, they may choose to abandon a post. Recognizing this fact, good blogs provide links that require little work from their readers.

Mode for Caleb

The author of “Mode for Caleb” relies heavily on the use of links to familiarize his audiences with issues he intends to address, and to direct them to documents or essays he finds interesting. In most cases these links transport the reader directly to the materials referenced. To make things even easier, he occasionally provides multiple links to a given source within the same post. In “More on Grading,” for example, he presented an excerpt taken from an essay that addressed the challenges involved in grading students’ writing. The post began with a summative statement, one that encapsulated its subject:

“S.L. Kim has an A-worthy post at Printculture on how grading affects classroom dynamics."

Embedded in this statement was a link to Printculture, a self-proclaimed “blogzine” that publishes new articles on a weekly basis. When I initially followed the link I was brought to the publication’s homepage, which provided a direct link to the article. A week later, however, the link had been removed. This presented a problem. In order to read the essay, potential audiences would have to search for it. As if to account for this problem, the author provided a second link within the same post, one that appeared at its conclusion. At the end of the excerpt he wrote:

“Read the whole thing.”

This simple phrase acted as a directive, and provided a link that led directly to the original essay. There was no guarantee, of course, that readers would follow it, or that they would read the essay in its entirety. By making the process of finding the article easier, however, the author increased the likelihood that they would do so.

Orcinus

The author of “Orcinus” provides efficient links as well. They usually transport the reader directly to materials he has cited in posts. They are also clearly labeled, the result being that readers are able to recognize (in no uncertain terms) the destinations to which they are being directed. The application of such a strategy can prove quite usesful, particularly for the reader confronted by a number of links.

In the opening paragraph of “Journalistic Standards,” a post that examined Michelle Malkin’s career as a conservative pundit, the writer provided three links:

"The other day, Atrios—in discussing Cathy Young’s piece questioning right-wing bloggers, particularly Michelle Malkin, for their handling of a series of incidents involving the appearance of explosive devices at various campuses around the country (see my take on that that)—asked the 64,000-dollar question…”

The first two links (“Cathy Young’s piece” and “my take”) left little doubt regarding the direction in which the reader was to be taken. When I clicked the first link I was brought to an editorial written by Cathy Young, one that had appeared on the Boston Globe’s on-line site. The second link led to a post the author of "Orcinus" had written concerning the same issue. The efficiency of these links was heightened as a result of the author’s decision to use concise language to convey a sense of direction to his readers.

Interestingly, the third link, “64,000-dollar question,” proved to be a bit more troublesome. Given its vague phrasing, I was unsure whether following it would enhance my understanding of the post. As it turned out, it did not. The link led to an essay that ended with the question, “By the current rules of the road is Michelle Malkin really a ‘professional journalist?’” This same question had appeared at the start of the original post I encountered on "Orcinus." While I understood the author's desire to document the source, I could not help but believe he could have used other strategies to do so. Directing the reader away from the post was unnecessary.

Jesus’ General

Whereas the authors of “Mode for Caleb” and “Orcinus” provide clearly written links that carry their readers directly to the materials referenced in their posts, the links provided on “Jesus’ General” have been more problematic. In some instances the text used to establish these links has been vague, the result being that I have been unsure where I was being steered. This was the case when I read “Crushing Decent Wherever It Raises Its Reality-Based Head.” The post included a photograph of a protestor being marshaled out of a room after disrupting a speech delivered by President Bush. Below the photograph the author had written:

“A heroic agent of the State Security Apparatus apprehends a thought-criminal during Our Leader’s Soldier Day speech in Norfolk.”

Establishing a link using a vague term such as “apprehends” causes the reader to face a number of questions. Is it necessary to access the link in order to understand the post? Where does the link lead? When I followed the link I was brought to Yahoo! News and what I assumed was the original copy of the photograph. Beside it was a brief blurb. In this particular instance, accessing the link was not necessary.

An even more problematic link appeared in “Bill’s Mighty and Terrible Falafel of Justice,” a post that addressed the legal problems encountered by Alberto Bondy, a Catholic priest. Unfamiliar with this particular individual, I had a difficult time making sense of the post. Assuming that the link provided would direct me to an essay that documented his legal problems, I followed it, and was brought to “Bobo’s World,” another blog. It contained a post that provided the names of several religious figures accused of having committed various crimes. Unsure of the exact name I was looking for, I returned to “Jesus’ General.” Having found the individual's name, I returned to “Bobo’s World," located it on the list, and followed a link that took me to an article that detailed his arrest. The article appeared as part of the Detroit News online edition. As can be seen, this process led me to do quite a bit of searching. This problem could have been avoided had the authors provided a direct link from their post to the original article.

Though seemingly insignificant, links play a substantial role in determining the extent to which a blog will be “user-friendly.” Authors who provide clearly labeled links that lead the reader to cited sources make the reading process easier. In doing so, they increase the likelihood that their readers will interact with their material.