intellectualsprawl

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Tumblr vs Wordpress

Since school let-out at the beginning of June, I've been debating as a summer project: moving this blog from Tumblr to Wordpress. Years ago, when I started this blog, I chose Tumblr because it allowed me to use my domain name with the blog for free. Other solutions cost extra money to use a personal domain, and since I was already paying for the domain, I didn't want to pay more… you know, being lowly school teacher

A student found this blog this past semester, and rather than remark on the contents of the blog at all, they just made a big deal about me having "a Tumblr."

Using Wordpress wouldn't change much from the current setup; I'd still be using the blog for the exact same things — it just wouldn't be branded by/ identifiable as "a Tumblr."

BUT, for what I use this for, I still just can't justify paying more money to have a blog elsewhere, using my existing domain name, and so for the time being I'll just stay here.

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GWSF side-quests 2025

When summer hits and I'm no longer teaching, my brain rebels at its idleness, and so I often make up little tasks for myself. For example, one year, I decided to walk from our condo to every branch of the San Francisco Public Library. This year, I created a photo scavenger hunt of sorts for some online-friends. This is a Flickr-thing, really, but I share it here as an archive of my "work".

Flickr post:

Just living our lives, we end up in most parts of the City at some point. When you’re there, grab a nice photo of the baker’s dozen described below. There’s no need to add them to the GWSF pool, as these are not obscure City locations, and a bunch of people will be taking pictures of the same places. More details at the bottom

Thanks to SqueakyCleanDave for telling me about the Alley Cat races by the City’s bike messengers — that got me thinking of this.

It’s art

It might be the middle of June gloom as I write this, but you may only need a sweater at the first destination; it can be quite balmy. This outdoor gallery transforms a simple alley into political canvas.

I like raisin snails

Bring a coffee and a pastry to where the land ends, and think about Eduardo.

Not the destroyer of worlds

It doesn’t have a keyboard but this musical instrument does have one or more pipe divisions.

Crux immissa

The stars-and-stripes were raised at the City’s highest point to signal that the Civil War had ended with a Confederate surrender.

The Gruff Brothers' Former Pasture

This tiny summit — named for its former inhabitants — is home to California saxifrage, but we’ll miss its February to April-bloom

Heptad of saltwater sanctuaries

The ocean always reclaims its own, once the playground of a mining millionaire.

“What am I? A duck?”

Near Anthony R Grove High School, these elegant risers offer stunning bay views earned through cardio commitment.

1966 Sit-in to 1973 slide

A sign reads “No adults unless accompanied by children,” but if you’re just taking pictures, you won’t need cardboard, and you don’t need kids.

A simple park now but once quite Nobel

You might be looking for our forktail damselflies, our garter snakes, or a Mission Blue, but you’ll probably just see a lot of chert and greenstone

Our own Braceros program

Find the whimsical wooden sculptures carved by a former city gardener in this neighborhood park.

70-foot Gnomon

Thanks to Tony Hawk, this park is a real dish again

Any ceramic climb

These community art projects bloom with ceramics and volunteer hours throughout the City. Spend time at any of of them

Franklin’s idea, but Burnham’s gift to the neighborhoods

Some are Beaux-Arts, mine was just a leased storefront at 45 Leland Ave. Go to yours, or your favorite, or one of the 31 you haven’t been to yet (like the new kiosk?)

Quest Guidelines:

2025: Most of us have pictures of these locations in our archives, but for the purposes of this, please get a new picture :)

Documentation: Take a nice picture of/ at the general destination hinted at above

Reveal Strategy: Make your photos Public on/ around January 9, 2026, and tag them GWSFsidequests2025. On Saturday, January 10th, I’ll tally the entries and see who’s completed all the side quests

Not a race: This is scored simply on completion; and I have prizes for 25 participants. There’s no rush; do these at your own pace over the next six months

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From PeerWise to a Self-Check

Since the Fall of 2019, I have been having students use PeerWise for their reading quizzes. They had a two-part assignment to complete at PeerWise for each chapter they read. First, they created original multiple-choice questions based on the chapter's content, and then they answered questions that had been developed by classmates.

The second part was just good old-fashioned low-stakes retrieval practice; they were graded on completion not on accuracy. It was the first part that I found the greatest educational benefit in. Actually writing multiple-choice questions that their classmates would respond to and rate, and authoring the explanations for the correct responses, was where the real learning reinforcement occurred. There was an added element of a leaderboard which ranked students by the number of questions authored, answered, accuracy when answering, and peer-rated quality of original questions, which motivated some students to do more than required.

Unfortunately, with generative AI, the best part of the assignment – students struggling to translate material they read in the textbook into a quiz question – is gone now. Students can simply have generative AI crank-out questions, and submit them as their own.

So, for next semester, I will no longer be using PeerWise, and instead will have a two-part assignment/ assessment for each chapter.

After students read the assigned chapter, first, they will complete a "Chapter X self-check." That will consist of five multiple-choice questions pulled from a bank, relating strictly to the content in the chapter. This will look like a quiz but it will not be in a secure testing environment (eg, Lockdown Browser for Canvas, which is what we use). Students will be able to retake the quiz as many times as they like until they get a score they're satisfied with. These are done outside of the classroom and class time.

The second part of the new assignment will be an in-class quick-write, in "Lockdown browser" so that students cannot access generative AI. This quick-write will have three short questions (which I'd written years ago as an at-home writing assignment based on the book Make It Stick). These are timed to 15-minutes, which I really hate to give-up from my 200-minutes a week with students — but with generative AI, I can't think of a more efficient way of keeping them on their reading schedule

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Atomic Habits assignment, the first year

The Genesis of an Idea

When we – Yosup Joo and I – designed the Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience course, we wanted it to be more than just memorizing vocabulary… which is what the AP Psychology course had been, largely. We wanted students to live the concepts they were studying. That's how I ended up assigning James Clear's "Atomic Habits" as a semester-long project — not just to read, but to implement.

The premise was simple: over 18 weeks, students would select, develop, and maintain a single habit while connecting their experience to neuroscience principles. What unfolded was far more complex and revealing than I anticipated.

The Assignment Structure

I divided the project into six parts, mirroring Clear's book:

Introduction & Part One: Students reflected on who they are versus who they want to become

Part Two - Make it Obvious: Implementation intentions and environmental design

Part Three - Make it Attractive: Temptation bundling and community support

Part Four - Make it Easy: The two-minute rule and friction reduction

Part Five - Make it Satisfying: Tracking and accountability

Part Six - Advanced Strategies: Personality alignment and long-term sustainability

Each submission required 3-4 paragraph responses, encouraging moderate reflection rather than surface-level reporting.

Linked here are the six assignments.

What the Students Taught Me

The Universal Struggle with Technology

Nearly 70% of my students identified procrastination as their primary challenge, with phone addiction as the universal villain. One student wrote with striking honesty: "Apps like Opal to reduce screen time are too easy to override, just like Apple's built-in time limit." This wasn't just a side issue—it was the issue that undermined nearly every other habit attempt.

The Power of Identity-Based Change

Students who grasped Clear's concept of identity-based habits showed remarkable insight. One wrote: "I want to become a person who is confident, kind, and resilient...someone who stays calm under pressure, trusts themselves." They weren't just trying to do things differently; they were trying to become someone different.

The Emotional Undercurrent

What surprised me most was the vulnerability in their responses. Behind the academic language were stories of:

Burnout: "I have been working hard for most of my entire life...but now I just feel so tired of it all"

Social anxiety: "I rarely raise my hand, even when I know the answer"

Self-doubt: "I frequently doubt my instincts and question whether I am making the right choices"

This wasn't just a habit-formation exercise; it was a window into their struggles with life, identity, and growing up.

For the complete analysis of student responses across all six assignments, see this summary by Claude.

What Worked Well

The Two-Minute Rule

This concept resonated universally. Students discovered that "the hardest part is honestly just starting," and the two-minute rule made that starting achievable. One student noted: "Usually, once I begin, I naturally keep writing more."

Environmental Design

Students who reorganized their physical spaces saw immediate results. Simple changes—moving phone chargers away from beds, placing yoga mats beside their beds, reorganizing kitchens for meal prep—created powerful behavioral shifts.

The "Never Miss Twice" Rule

This principle was transformative for many. As one student reflected: "This rule honestly changed how I deal with failure. Before, if I slipped up, even once, I'd feel like I ruined everything and just stop trying."

What Worked Less-Well

Overly Ambitious Initial Goals

Many students chose habits that were too complex or time-consuming. They needed more guidance on starting small and scaling up gradually.

Weak Neuroscience Integration

While students engaged deeply with behavior change, most didn't naturally connect their experiences to course concepts about neuroplasticity, dopamine pathways, or basal ganglia function. This was a missed opportunity for deeper learning.

The Weekend Problem

Consistency crumbled on weekends for many students. Different schedules, social pressures, and the absence of weekday structure created a recurring failure point.

Limited Peer Support

Despite Clear's emphasis on community, most students worked in isolation. Those who found accountability partners succeeded more consistently, suggesting we need better peer support structures.

Lessons for Next Year

Based on this year's experience, here's how I'll improve the assignment:

1. Mandatory Phone Management Module

Since technology addiction affected everyone, I'll add a dedicated class lesson on digital wellness before Part Two, with required phone management strategies regardless of chosen habits.

2. Structured Habit Selection

I'll provide:

A "Habit Feasibility Checklist" (Can it be done in under 10 minutes? Do you already have the resources?)

Categories with difficulty ratings

Required 2-minute versions for the first two weeks

3. Neuroscience Integration Checkpoints

Each submission will include explicit prompts connecting experiences to:

Habit loops and basal ganglia (Part 2)

Dopamine and reward systems (Part 3)

Neuroplasticity and repetition (Part 4)

4. Built-in Accountability Systems

I'll implement:

Mandatory habit buddy partnerships

Weekly micro-check-ins (2-3 questions)

A class discussion board for sharing wins and strategies

5. Weekend-Specific Planning

Students will create separate implementation intentions for weekdays versus weekends, acknowledging these as different contexts requiring different strategies.

6. Formal "Habit Pivot" Protocol

After Week 4, students can officially change their habit with structured reflection on why the change is necessary—normalizing adaptation rather than viewing it as failure.

Running the assignment and every student submission through Claude, a more complete (and thorough recommendation) was generated; that's available here.

The Bigger Picture

This assignment revealed something profound: behavior change isn't just about willpower or technique—it's about identity, community, and self-compassion. Students learned that small changes compound, that environment shapes behavior, and that failure is data, not defeat.

One student's reflection captures the transformation: "By simply doing that, I've started off unconventionally, but at least I started." That's the real lesson—not perfection, but progress. I should know this! As a distance runner, I regularly tell myself – and any beginning runner who talks to me about it – that "running never gets easier; you just get better at it."

As educators, we often focus on content delivery and assessment. This project reminded me that sometimes the most powerful learning happens when students apply concepts to their own lives. The neuroscience they'll remember won't just be the textbook definitions but the lived experience of rewiring their own brains, one small habit at a time.

Looking Forward

Next year's students will benefit from this year's pioneers. I'll share anonymized success stories, create templates based on what worked, and address common pitfalls upfront. But I'll also preserve the space for vulnerability and self-discovery that made this assignment so powerful.

Because ultimately, this isn't just about building better habits—it's about helping students become the people they want to be, with neuroscience as both the map and the territory.

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Research Participation Requirement

"Research Participation Requirements" are common in undergrad psychology courses – because the graduate students need participants for their studies. The requirement to participate in research is far less common in secondary education because most studies are designed for, or IRBs require, adults for consent. I submit that using the format below, 12th graders can be expected to participate in research studies to (a) help them better understand research methods in the social sciences, and (b) contribute data to Higher ED students and projects.

After reviewing submissions from students in both psychology courses that I teach (Social-Cognitive Psychology, and Behavioral-Neuroscience), it's clear that having students participate in real research surveys is an effective teaching approach. Instead of just reading about research methods in textbooks, these students actively took part in academic surveys they found online. They then analyzed these surveys, looking at elements like question design, response options, and ethical considerations (assignment details here). As one student noted when evaluating a survey on short TikTok videos: "The format was easy to follow, however, there were no open-ended questions, and a limited range of agreement. I dislike the check boxes that range from 'strongly disagree' - 'strongly agree', I find it doesn't always align with how I feel because I'm usually in the middle of two options, so I prefer a sliding scale of some sort."

The quality of student work varied considerably. Some submissions showed thoughtful analysis of survey methodology, with students identifying specific problems like unclear questions or limited response options. Others provided more basic observations about the surveys they completed. This range suggests that while all students gained exposure to research methods, some were better able to apply critical thinking skills than others. One student demonstrated sophisticated analysis in writing: "The survey on music piracy follows a clear and logical progression by beginning with introductory and demographic questions, then moving into thematically grouped sections focused on experiences, beliefs, and perceptions, which helps maintain respondent engagement and coherence. It uses branching logic to ensure relevance, guiding participants through only applicable questions."

What makes this assignment particularly valuable is how it connects classroom learning to real-world research. By experiencing surveys as participants and then evaluating them as critics, students develop a more complete understanding of research methodology. They can see both the participant and researcher perspectives. Students often identified issues that professional researchers sometimes overlook, such as cultural sensitivity in demographic questions. As one student observed: "At some point the survey asked what demographic I am a part of and it didn't have a section for others. I am mixed and I identify with all three of my ethnicities... It's always so hard to just identify as one ethnicity when I fit into multiple categories."

For educators, this approach offers a simple but effective way to teach research methods. It requires minimal resources while giving students authentic research experience. The variation in submission quality suggests that some students might benefit from additional guidance or examples before completing the assignment, but overall, this hands-on approach appears to successfully develop students' critical research skills while engaging them with diverse psychological topics.

At the end of the first year, I ran a simple survey of students on their experience with the assignment. Here are two interesting points from that:

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With my one section of Introduction to Ethnic Studies this semester, I recently reimagined my approach to student writing assignments in response to the growing presence of AI tools like ChatGPT. Frankly, there is no writing prompt that we can imagine which generative AI cannot undetectably answer with skilled prompting. Following the screening of "Race: The Power of Illusion, Part 1" in my 9th-grade class, I shifted from traditional take-home essays to in-class quick writes. While this adjustment presented some logistical challenges, including the allocation of precious class time and accommodations considerations, it addressed a critical concern in modern education: ensuring authentic student work in an era of accessible AI writing tools.

My pilot of this new approach proved surprisingly effective, despite a minor technical hiccup with our Canvas setup. While I had configured the assignment to display word counts within the required 100-200 word range, this feature only functioned on laptops, not iPads. As a result, several students had to manually count their words or submit and revise their work, with one student needing to trim her response and others adding sentences to meet the requirements. Even with this technical wrinkle, my class of 12 students achieved a mean score of 98%, with an average writing time of just under 14 minutes. This actually surpassed the historical average of 93% for take-home assignments, though I have no data on how long students spent writing their paragraphs at home in previous years.

Perhaps the most significant insight from my experiment came from adjusting the assessment criteria. By placing greater emphasis on students' ability to construct arguments and support them with evidence from the documentary, rather than focusing heavily on grammar and syntax, I've created what I believe is a more authentic evaluation of their understanding. This shift in grading philosophy raises important questions that I'm eager to discuss with my fellow Ethnic Studies teachers and perhaps the broader Social Science Department. While this approach may seem like a Sisyphean response to technological change, my initial results suggest it could be an effective way to maintain academic integrity while adapting to our evolving educational landscape.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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It's always nice to see students write about their psychology classes in the school newspaper.

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An article published by the APA about a lesson in my psychology courses.

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Me, being interviewed.

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Generative AI and Psychotherapies Lesson

At the end of the Disorders and Therapies unit during the Spring semester of 2023, I wanted to students to gain more experience with generative AIs, which have filled the news recently and been a topic of conversation in schools — largely framed as a threat to academic integrity. My goal was two-fold: have students practice creating prompts for an AI that will elicit desired responses, and further their understanding of some psychotherapeutic models.

Based on those goals, I leveraged the 'Sage' model, based on ChatGPT 3.5, at Poe.com to create the linked lesson plan here.

OpenAI.com is currently blocked on campus, and so I directed students to Poe. Some downloaded the app on their iPad, others simply went directly to the web address.

Projecting my screen to the front of the room, I demonstrated how to set the context for the AI, asking it to pretend to be a clinical psychologist and asking it to talk to me about my arachnophobia. Then for 15-minutes students interacted with the AI, asking about their chosen disorder and their assigned psychotherapeutic model. Then they wrote their thoughts on a discussion board in Canvas. A few of those anonymized responses are reproduced below:

The psychotherapy technique I explored was interpersonal therapy(IPT), and this therapy is used to treat dissociative identity disorder(DID) by identifying "interpersonal problems or conflicts" that enhance the symptoms. What I found most interesting about using this therapy technique was that it seems it would actually be very effective in treating DID because it is supposed to dig deeper into a persons social life, sense of community, and past trauma. IPT's goal is to un-weave the tensions in the brain caused by social situations, which is a huge part in what DID patients struggle with.

The psychotherapy technique I investigated was Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help support someone with antisocial personality disorder. DBT is focusing on skills training, so we would work on developing skills in the four areas of mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT would help create a stronger sense of self awareness and self confidence and learn how to navigate having anti social personality disorder. The main goal would be to help you develop the skills and tools you need to manage your symptoms, improve your relationships, and lead a more fulfilling life.

I investigated the treatment of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder using cognitive behavioral therapy. It told me that first it would identify and challenge negative thoughts that trigger ARFID behavior by examining evidence against them. It would also have you work on developing balanced and realistic thoughts. Then it would do exposure and response prevention by gradually introducing problematic foods and work with coping strategies to manage the anxiety that arises with that. Then it has you practice mindfulness techniques to reduce anxiety and symptoms. After that it has you engage in behavioral experiments to test beliefs about certain foods. After that it has you practice goal setting to be realistic in managing ARFID to build confidence and reduce reliance on avoidance behavior.

After this writing period, we circled the desks and had a general class discussion about their experience. With one class of 30 students, I started the conversation by asking "to what degree was this different from talking to your dog?" This conversation went… Okay. It wasn't great but it was still a good conversation. With my second class, I asked: "What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a generative AI for psychotherapy?" And students in this class period did an excellent job of identifying a short list of advantages (such as accessibility, affordability, and anonymity) and disadvantages (such as lack of human interaction, limited understanding of complex human emotions, and lack of flexibility in responding to specific issues "the client" brought up.)

All in all, this new lesson worked well for accomplishing my two goals — only one of which was specifically associated with the explicit curriculum of the course.

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The power of propaganda: How it contributes to the biased development of racial stereotypes in America.

by Eric E Castro

Propaganda has played a significant role in the development and perpetuation of racial stereotypes in America. Racial stereotypes are oversimplified and often negative beliefs or attitudes about people based on their race or ethnicity. These stereotypes can be reinforced and perpetuated through propaganda, such as through media, political campaigns, or social messaging.

One propaganda technique that has been used to perpetuate racial stereotypes is "name-calling," in which derogatory terms are used to describe individuals or groups of a particular race. This type of propaganda reinforces negative beliefs and attitudes about the targeted group and can fuel the development of stereotypes. For example, terms such as "thug," "welfare queen," or "illegal alien" are commonly used to describe African Americans, those who receive public assistance, and immigrants, respectively. The repeated use of such language reinforces negative stereotypes and perpetuates discriminatory beliefs.

Another propaganda technique that contributes to the development of racial stereotypes is "card-stacking," in which only selective information is presented to support a particular point of view. For example, media outlets that selectively report on crime involving certain racial or ethnic groups while ignoring or downplaying crime involving others perpetuate stereotypes that associate certain groups with criminal behavior. This type of propaganda reinforces negative attitudes towards certain racial and ethnic groups and contributes to the development of harmful stereotypes.

Additionally, propaganda can use "plain folks" and "glittering generalities" techniques to perpetuate racial stereotypes. By portraying members of certain racial and ethnic groups as either "normal, everyday people" or as possessing universally positive traits, propaganda can reinforce existing stereotypes that have been developed based on people's race or ethnicity.

In order to address the perpetuation of racial stereotypes in America, it is essential to recognize the ways in which propaganda reinforces these stereotypes. By understanding the techniques that are used to manipulate people's beliefs and attitudes, individuals can be better equipped to critically evaluate information and media, and avoid being influenced by propaganda that reinforces harmful racial stereotypes. This can help to break down barriers between different racial and ethnic groups, promote mutual understanding and respect, and work towards a more just and equitable society.

More generally, it is important for students to learn about these propaganda techniques so that they can become more critical consumers of information and media. By being able to recognize and analyze these techniques, students can better understand how messages are constructed and how they can be manipulated to achieve a particular goal. Moreover, learning about propaganda can help students become more aware of their own biases and assumptions, and more open to considering multiple perspectives on an issue. By fostering these critical thinking skills, students can become more informed and engaged citizens, who are better equipped to navigate the complex and diverse world around them.

—-

For more on the “writing” of this article, see the preceding post.

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“Writing” an article

For the Introduction to Ethnic Studies course that I teach, I could not find an article that was of the appropriate reading level to introduce the propaganda lesson propaganda in the “Media & Society” unit. Articles that I did find and might have assigned for homework were either too short, too long, too dated, or too tangential for an Ethnic Studies course. Then I remembered the adage: “if you don’t like the news, make your own.” So I decided to write the article myself for students to read.

Of course I am a busy man and could use some help with the article, so I asked my friendly neighborhood generative AI to assist. My opening prompt was:

9th graders are studying propaganda for the first time in an Ethnic Studies course. Please define propaganda; and then in a paragraph each define (in just one sentence) and then discuss the following specific methods of propaganda: Name Calling, Glittering Generalities, Transfer Testimonial, Plain Folks, Card Stacking, and Bandwagon

I started by naming those specific techniques because our in-class activity for the following meeting asks small groups to describe and discuss an assigned technique and provide specific examples. That prompt for the framework, so I added:

connect propaganda to the biased development of racial stereotypes in america

This resulted in almost a finished product, I felt, so my next instruction was:

That is good. Create a title for that essay

I don’t know why I added “That is good,” as if the LLM needed an affirmation. On the one hand, I’m glad to see that my natural tendency is toward politeness, but I also want to consciously keep the AI separated from humanity, and continue to treat it like the tool it is.

In for a penny, in for a pound: why format the title myself?

Format that article title according to the APA format

Next, given the target audience of 9th graders, I felt the article needed a clearly identifiable thesis statement. For some reason I needed to clarify

create a thesis statement for the paper

by stating:

do it again but this time in just one sentence.

This gave me a finished product in terms of content. Reading through the article, checking for accuracy and clarity, I moved a paragraph to the end.

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Jared Diamond and GPT-3

I wrote this as an email to my academic department but for various reasons decided to not send it and instead post it here.

~~~

Based on yesterday's departmental conversation, I went to the educator's page for the three-part documentary on Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, and I gave one of their essay prompts to an AI

Write a paragraph disagreeing with Jared Diamond’s theory about geography being the main determining factor in which countries became rich and powerful through the development of technology and conquest and which countries remain impoverished and underdeveloped in relation to the rest of the world. Explain your reasons why using specific reasons, facts, and examples.

And here was the response:

I disagree with Jared Diamond's theory that geography is the main determining factor in which countries become rich and powerful. The truth is that many other factors, such as economic policies, political stability, and even luck, play a role in the development and prosperity of a nation. For example, Singapore is a small island nation with limited resources, yet it has managed to become one of the wealthiest countries in the world due to its economic policies and its ability to attract investments. In contrast, many African countries have significant mineral wealth, yet they remain impoverished and underdeveloped due to political instability and poor economic policies. Therefore, it is clear that geography is only one factor among many that determine a country's wealth and power.

All is not lost. In the short-term, you can feed a suspected AI-authored paragraph through GPTZero, which is an AI (yes, it will eventually become an arms race between AIs.) It is not 100% accurate and it can be fooled by manually altering words, clauses, or phrases in the generated-paragraph — but for now it's better than nothing.

For the Jared Diamond paragraph above, I got this result:

First, I fully expect, for better or for worse, turnitin.com to incorporate this AI-detecting-AI technology into their service.

Second, because our students will be working with AI's in most knowledge-worker fields, it's my humble opinion that we should be their capacity in these regards. That is going to involve building students' understanding of what AI's actual capabilities and limitations are; and this will necessitate building students' ability to formulate prompts that generate the desired response.

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Verification for Mastodon

Mastodon

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Adolescence pre-lecture, part 2

Related to the last, another piece of Scott Reid’s lesson on Development that I stole was around 18 things an 18-year-old should know. I gave students four articles, asked them to read just one, and put 4-minutes on the clock. Here are the four articles provided:

18 Life Lessons I Learned in 18 Years

18 Lessons I’ve Learned in 18 Years

18 Things You Should Learn By the Time You Turn 18

The 18 Life Skills Every 18-Year-Old Needs

Then, I asked them to think of what three things they’d include on their own list.

Many students included some aspect of financial literacy in their responses, such as “Knowing the value of money. SF kinda fucked us on this one to be honest. Apparently ordering a $40 meal for lunch isn't normal,” “credit score, bc idk how that works,” or “Learn to handle your money because we won't have parents to give us money forever.”

An equal number of students indicated learning to care more as stressed the importance of not caring so much. For every example of “hustle. Every day,” “Work hard so you can be proud of yourself,” and “work hard at everything,” there was an equal number of “relax. Everything will unfold as it’s intended,” “Live in the moment and enjoy it,” and “Worrying is unlikely to fix the bad things and will only prevent you from enjoying the good.”

Other dichotomies were “Enjoy your own company” and “surround yourself with people who make you happy” or “Be independent” and “ask for help when you need it.”

Quite a few submissions hinted at regrets in their lives already, such as: “don’t quit the thing you actually enjoy,” and “keep your hobbies, even though they don’t go on your resumé.”

Many items on their lists were about relating to others. Some were as simple as “Thank your parents” while others were about strangers: “everyone has something going on behind the surface so be nice.” At least one student remembered their teachers: “Be polite. To waiters, family, teachers, it never hurts to smile and be nice. When people are working and are being forced to be nice to you, you should be nice back.”

Dozens of students wrote about the power of being outdoors and in nature. Many posed this in opposition to technology: “Nature and Music are infinitely greater than social media and gaming.” Others acknowledged this was not the norm for their peers: “I know that some were not raised hiking or going on adventures but train yourself to find some peace in the outdoors.”

I’ve saved their submissions to this activity, but am not yet sure what I’ll do with them — though, frankly, anything more is actually unnecessary. Even through Zoom, I could see them reading each other’s submissions and nodding in agreement. All in all, it was an easy and effective activator for the Development unit.

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Adolescence, pre-lecture, part 1

Social media connects me to psychology teachers around the country. An AP Psychology teacher in Arizona, Scott Reid, shared two parts of his Development unit that I felt would play well with my Cognitive Psychology students, half of whom are in the physical classroom and the remainder on Zoom.

The first is a simple question for seniors in high school: "What's one thing you really wish your parents knew/ understood?" Here are their anonymized and randomized but otherwise unedited responses, collected via PearDeck:

my phone is not that bad

curfew isn't really stopping anything at this point.

that i'm ready to go off on my own and they don't need to worry

I do try and work hard even if you may think otherwise

that chocolate cake is a necessity at all times

my phone is my phone

I am independent

I'm struggling

I can make educated, important decisions for myself

that i don't want to talk to them sometimes

that just because my siblings are adults doesn't mean i am... i still need guidance sometimes

I am capable of making my own decisions and shouldn’t have so much of my life controlled

still able to get stuff done when procrastinating

how judgmental they can come off sometimes

I'm not talking to a boy when i smile at my phone

that i want to be left alone

covid hit and school's hard right now and going to college is going to be hard

how different the world we have grown up in is, compared to when our parents grew up.

I can do things on my own

that they can trust me.

that boys don't determine my mood

I am trustworthy and safe

how canvas works.

nagging about their day and crapping on mine doesn't make anyone feel better

that i am not completely stupid and that i actually understand responsibility.

how stressful school can be even from home

I wish they'd realize i'm not a kid anymore.

My pronouns are hard to share with them.

that throwing things and yelling is why im not going to come home after college

their childhoods and how it made them the way they are today

how i’m feeling about college

how difficult things are especially right now

that i don't need approval to know what i am doing is right.

we are always going through something whether it be friend drama or school so please give us a break.

things are different from when they were my age

it’s okay to want to be alone

probably that i will not end up crashing my car every time i drive with music on the radio

my parents actually know everything about me–they're my best friends and not in a depressing way.  we just get along super well.

stop telling me colleges are dumb for rejecting me, it doesn't make me feel better

that you have grown and learned from stuff you’ve done in the past

sometimes i just want to be left alone in my room.

I'm going to engage in teenage behaviors/activities and it is not the end of the world!

My friends are also changing at this time

impacts of social media / why we want to be on our phones so much

sometimes communication is hard and i don't want to share everything with them

I wish they knew how hard i work and how badly i want to please them

I will tell them when i know where i want to go to college they don’t have to ask me everyday and pressure me to choose faster.

idk

school now is a lot harder than when they were in high school

that i don't know exactly what they want from me and i cant read their minds

the college process is different now

school is challenging

stop taking your frustration with my other siblings out on me just because i am here

about my personality outside our family

that i am capable of making certain decisions without being reminded of everything bad that can happen.

need for independence to some extent

life is not always perfect

I know I shouldn't be surprised by their honesty and their thoughtfulness. I know I've worked hard to create a class where they feel safe to share such things; and at the same time, it surprises me — and I'm genuinely grateful for their trust.

[intellectualsprawl]

Parkinson’s Law and Midnight deadlines

I am committed to the science of education, and I have many loosely-held opinions. Sometimes these opinions of mine come into conflict with the available data on teaching and learning. And I’m glad of these opportunities to critically examine my instructional practices; and I’m thankful for those in my professional network that push me to be a better teacher.

When I moved away from assignments on paper and began collecting work via our learning management system (LMS), I originally kept the same due dates as the previous paper assignment. If, for example, a paper was due before the end of the school day, then the digital assignment was similarly due by the end of the school day. This posed a problem for students on athletic teams and students gone on retreat.1

Next, I moved the due date for assignments to the latest point of the day, allowing students to turn work in after their Athletic or Arts commitments; the latest point of the day meant 11:59pm. That’s where my due date has remained for the past few years. And, I’ve been careful to remind students that “do” and “due” are two very different things. I didn’t care when they did the work; I just wanted it turned in before the end of the day.2

In an online conversation with Dr. Beers at Ohio State University she brought up a compelling argument for moving the deadline for submissions down, making them due sooner than midnight. My initial understanding of her argument was that making the work due earlier in the evening would allow students to sleep sooner. That did not convince me because I’ve always encouraged them to not leave work to the last, to instead finish their writing and editing early, and submit it well before the deadline. Missy’s convincing argument was people “work up until whatever deadline is set.” This is an invocation of Parkinson’s Law, and that is what I found convincing.

I'm glad to have colleagues – even those I've never met in person – who are willing and able to challenge my instructional practices. Now, 22-years into my teaching career, more than ever. I’m changing all my due times to 9pm.

Teaching at a parochial school, this later is a more common challenge than those in secular schools might suspect.  ↩

The assignments I'm speaking of here refer to papers being submitted; not reading assignments, and not formative or summative assessments.  ↩