#education practices

[mikejryan]

P.L.A.T.O. and Stanford...

Several years ago, in the early stages of this whimsical idea of teacher accountability and how to score/grade/gauge it, I received an interesting phone call from the Advanced Placement folks asking if I was free for a few days to attend an educational scoring opportunity at Stanford. Sure, why not?

Flight paid for, so I was picked up by a limo at the airport, driven to a hotel right beside Stanford's beautiful campus, and given an itinerary...

The next morning, I, along with about 20 other educators, showed up in a small conference room in the Education Building. We were met by a team of researchers and Carol Dweck, the author of Mindsets, then a new book just recently on the shelves but with years of background and prep. They told us we were there to help them fine tune and gauge the potential of a teacher observation program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It was called: PLATO [and there were others around the nation working with different observational tools and criteria for each subject in school] - the Protocol for Language Arts Teacher Observation.

All of us were dumbfounded and resistant. Suspicions about APs involvement, how the tool might be used, why this tool... and more popped poured out from various of my fellow educators. Then one of the researches said something like this: "This is the train we're on, and we want to build the best tool we can to make the ride work." Then most of us shut up. We realized that this new buzz phrase of accountability was here to stay, even though it appeared that nobody who created it [politicians and special interest groups] and promoted the mythos behind it [all media on all sides of the political and opinion spectra] were ever held accountable for their failures.

I won't go into the details of the scoring mechanisms other that to tell you that we watched videos of classroom Language Arts teachers in grades 3-6 from around the nation. They were paid a small stipend to allow a 360 and a front-facing camera in their classroom to record their teaching for a specified number of days/weeks. It was not all classes, and these were volunteers who believed they were doing a good job and whom the administrators in their schools believed were above average educators.

While watching these videos we scored the teachers on various things like feedback, direct instruction... and so on. Anyway, I got a chance to see educators from around the US giving it their supposed best, and I was appalled. We were instructed not to judge but to score, and for the purposes of the scoring mechanism, I did that, but as a professional educator who takes the process and importance of education very seriously, it was disturbing. Of the 50+ educators I witnessed and scored, only two showed any signs of actually doing anything productive and meaningful/useful... Some were utterly horrifying in the failures. Besides all this, later I was drowned out of the program. Ha, and here was the reason: my scoring was off. Ha, I asked for feedback, one of the criteria in effective teaching and instruction, and NEVER got any from Stanford. Ha, ha, ha... We were scoring other educators on their ability to provide it, but we never received it to help us with scoring. Lord love the system that created that.

Anyway, it's been a long time and PLATO, has not, to my knowledge, hit the administrative halls of education,even though several aspects of the system had promise. Likely the Stanford researchers and their failures to provide feedback to the evaluators was part of it.

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

thinking about the effects of Kira being raised in a refugee camp and never (as far as we know) having a formal education never being addressed on the show properly. she's obviously not a scientist or an engineer but her position as first officer still means that she has to supervise all of the engineers and scientists on ds9 to some degree. and as much as the Starfleet characters are uncomfortable with roughing it and the terrorist tactics Kira still needs to use every once in awhile, i think it's a really underrated idea for Kira to be just as uncomfortable with a lot of the high-concept science thrown around between the Starfleet people. she knows all of the practical stuff she needs to – how to repair essential technology, how to fly ships, how to use weaponry – but i could imagine her being really insecure about not fully understanding the underlying concepts the way everyone in Starfleet does.

anyways, i think Jadzia would pick up on Kira's insecurity eventually and would start giving her secret math lessons to get her up to speed so she can join in on all the Science Talk.

[imfromsixam]

Quick Guide: Stay Safe While Downloading Sims 4 CC & Mods

I just published a quick guide to help you download Sims 4 CC & mods safely. ⚠️ From trusted sources to spotting red flags. Keep your game clean and secure! 😊

Read it now

[starkayezer]

wolfstar chaperoning prom every year and not being as strict with the rules 🫶

because they know that things are going to happen anyway, and they would rather have them be done safely with supervision than have their students who they care for try to sneak around

Sirius wears a dress btw. That's not exactly relevant but I needed you to know.

[goddess-of-frot]

The single benefit of so many transfems not being aware of how to touch and please themselves and other transfems is that when they do finally have sex with a transfem who does know, you get to touch them in places they never considered in ways they’d never thought and hear the hitch in their voice as their conception of sex melts away against the fingers pressed into them. Sex as educating them on their body and the new possibilities it’s capable of can be very hot, but also you can completely let it go to your head when she says it was the best sex she’s ever had.

[inkprilled]

Just before covid hit my brother and I at 15 and 19 found our selfs homeless. I had a choice, my brother would go into care or we could stay together, but only if I took responsibility for him and had somewhere to live. So I applyed for social housing, the guy that processed my case was sympathetic and at some points I was holding it together better than him, do you have any other family? No, Do you know where your mother is? I wish I did, how old is your brother? 15 are you in any fulltime education? Not anymore. He looked at me like I was something tragic and I suppose I was, there isn't a metaphor for what I looked like that works any better than just what his naked eyes saw; a girl abandoned by her mother, her life in a bag on her back completely thrown on how to deal with everything, and all he could do was fill out a form and send it and me off. it's going to be okay.

Somehow despite the odds we where given emergency accommodation and a year later a property to rent, I suspect we where pushed up the list because of my brothers age, we where lucky, some people wait years in hotels or streets all over the country, living out of suitcases and rucksacks.

As lucky as we where, luck didn't cover all the things I suddenly had to know. I had no idea how bills worked or paying my taxes, I didn't even really understand what "taxes" meant until the final notices where piling up in front of us. It's something they don't teach you in school or at least mine didn't. They never taught us how to survive in a world like this, they assume our parents would be there to explain or we'd be much older before it mattered. what's more useful in real life, how to formally address someone in an email or how to keep the lights on or how to find food when a tin of beans is too expensive.

Though I suppose the email ettique lesson was useful for something in the end,

To whomever it may concern, I'm writing to you regarding my payment plans and how I'm choosing to fork over alot of money and won't be buying enough food to live off this month. My regards.

[reality-detective]

The medicine they made you hate and convinced millions of people to spray chemicals to rid it from their lawn. 🤔

[stygiansauce]

I graduate college so I don't have to write essays or do research anymore.

And then I instantly get sucked into research so I can write a historical au.

[pratchettquotes]

"He's started catching fish," said the Senior Wrangler. "That means he'll come over all smug and start asking what plans we've got for making a boat at any minute, you know what he's like."

The Dean looked at some sketches he'd made on a rock.

"How hard can it be to build a boat?" he said. "People with bones in their noses build boats. And we are the end product of thousands of years of enlightenment. Building a boat is not beyond men like us, Senior Wrangler."

"Quite, Dean."

"All we have to do is search this island until we find a book with a title like Practical Boat-Building for Beginners."

"Exactly. It'll be plain sailing after that, Dean. Ahaha."

Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent

[our-trans-punk-experience]

Heya, I'm an American trans punk

I don't know if you've already made a post on it or not, but could you talk a bit about ways to participate in revolution without being violence or.. getting too close to direct violence?

I'm all for the "punch nazis" thing, and I think protests are extremely important even if they turn ugly, but I'm an upsettingly non-confrontational person due to trauma, I struggle a lot with unfamiliar experiences, and I'm pretty weak physically. I have very little motivation to get stronger, partially due to depression and partially due to the fact that I like being small because it makes me fast and agile and I can fit in small spaces.

I know there are some other options that aren't as active as the classic "revolution riots," but I struggle to remember them and actually mobilize myself to get started on anything, so sometimes it can feel like I'm just being useless when I should be doing so much more.

I'd really appreciate if you could just talk a bit about how not everyone can be out there on the front lines throwing tear gas cans back at the cops, and maybe list some more down-low activities that still push the revolution forward?

Your blog has been an inspiration, thank you so much <3

-🌌⭐

I am working on a full guide to practical resistance for beginner revolutionaries [title a work in progress] that will be released all at once when ive finished, probably as a pdf rather than a tumblr post. these are all great suggestions for sections to include

if anyone wants a particular revolutionary questions answered in the guide, mention in the ask that you want it answered there :}

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Happy Halloween and Wei Wuxian day!

[bloodbrown]

Pino probably would've loved zoos and museums. Sucks that his first exposure to these human joys is via fighting the things inside them after they were twisted by ergo and disease.

Every nice thing P could possibly experience post-game has already been ruined for him. Probably can't even bear to walk into an opera house and see a show either. And don't get me started on his feelings about clowns.

[thebramblewood]

Two sexy vampires walk into a bar.

Previous / Next

Helena: I feel like literally everything is hanging out.

Lilith: You’ll draw the men like flies to honey.

Helena: That’s a good thing?

Lilith: For our purposes, it’s a very good thing.

Helena: [telepathically to Caleb] Help me.

Lilith: Last chance, baby brother! Sure you don’t want to tag along?

Caleb: [telepathically to Helena] You’ll be fine. Don’t let her bully you.

Helena: [telepathically to Caleb] [mental eye roll] You’re one to talk.

Caleb: [tersely] I’m good here, thanks.

Lilith: Suit yourself!

-

Lilith: Try to keep up, fledgling.

Helena: [shouting] It’s not fair when you give yourself a head start!

Lilith: I’m not the one who’s been slacking on my training.

-

Helena: You know, plasma fruit’s not so bad once you get used to the taste.

Lilith: My god, he’s already got you indoctrinated.

Helena: [crossly] I’m not brainwashed. But the only alternative you’re offering is cold-blooded murder, and you still haven’t explained why that’s necessary. If you only took a little-

Lilith: Remind me, Helena. How well was that working out for you? Did you ever feel truly full? Was there ever a single moment when the thirst wasn’t at the forefront of your mind? Your silence speaks volumes. Let me put it in human terms. You were restricting yourself to a handful of almonds a day when what you really needed was at least a three-course meal. Your body is starving, and it always will be so long as you resist fully nourishing it. Plasma is better than nothing, but the ache in the pit of your stomach will be constant. Caleb likes to pretend he doesn’t feel it, but I’ve seen inside his mind and you have too. We both know it’s there.

Helena: But if it’s just about the blood, there are other ways to get it. Hospitals, blood banks, volunteers, [gulps queasily] animals.

Lilith: All perfectly acceptable supplements, yes. I have my sources. Our refrigerator hardly stocks itself. But the truth is every cell in your body now is optimized for attack. You’re a predator by nature, and it takes stamina to resist. A few weeks is nothing. Are you prepared to deny yourself for an eternity? [lowers voice seductively] Don’t lie to me, Helena. It felt good, didn’t it, in that moment you finally let go? 

Helena: I don’t want to talk about that.Lilith: You were driven by pure instinct, and you loved it. You felt free. You felt alive. You felt whole. [smirks knowingly before slithering off barstool] I’ve found our mark. Wait here while I reel him in. It shouldn’t take long.

[whaliiwatching]

no one understands them

[onebizarrekai]

I don't remember if you answered this question, but did you go to art school or are you self-taught? Have you studied from YouTube videos?

nah, I never did art school. I learned a few things from books when I was a kid and got signed up for a short summer art class one time, since I was thinking about being a professional artist and my parents were trying to help me along. I learned how to use digital art programs from tutorials when I was a teenager, but I haven't used tutorials much besides that. pretty much everything I know has been from observing other artists online and experimenting. so yeah, I guess that means I'm self-taught, haha.

I went to school for music and vocal performance, but I could tell a long story about the university I went to, how they weren't really qualified to train musicians and how I dropped out. I've already been working professionally as a performer for 7 years, working with a private teacher and as a teacher myself, and I have tons of experience that I never would've gotten at school, so it's all working out really well.

[nous-teleios]

Establishing a healthy relationship with ritual purity

Ritual purity is one of the many ideas that perennially appears in most religious and spiritual paradigms throughout the world. Many people struggle to integrate it into their daily lives, and some even disregard it altogether, so here I'll elaborate on some points concerning it, give some practical advice, and the theory behind it.

Why is ritual purity important to the Gods?

Preparing a pure body, space, and mind before a ritual is a sign of respect, first and foremost. As you'd never invite an important guest into a messy house, you'd also not invoke a deity into a messy room. If you went to an important dinner and the other person appeared dirty, underdressed, and overall in a state of neglégé, you likely wouldn't see that as polite or respectful in that setting. Thus, preparing a pure space and body are outward symbols of devotion and respect.

Why is ritual purity important for you?

Taking the time before a ritual to neaten up your room, take a shower, pefrom and ablution, perhaps even perfume yourself, and the space helps you get into the proper headspace for the ritual. It takes away the mundane thoughts by the virtue of having you focus on a task that is inherently related to a divine matter. I also found that it motivates me to maintain cleanliness even when I'm not otherwise feeling well.

How to ritually purify a space/yourself?

Depending on your tradition, you may already have specific ablutions and requirements in place for doing this, and if this is the case, definitely stick to those. A general method, however, would be to set the intention to cleanse on both a physical and spiritual level and then just clean/declutter your space as you usually would. After this, it would also be good to perform some kind of a banishing ritual (the LBRP always does the trick, but stuff such as spritzing with moon water can also work).

As for your body, make the same intention as you did above and take a shower.

When is ritual purification necessary?

If you have recently washed yourself or cleaned your space and altar, obviously, you don't need to do it again. You should, however, symbolically do a gesture of cleansing, such as waving away the stagnant energies with your hand, declaring an already clean space pure before ritual, etc. If you have recently showered, washing your hands and face with the intention of purification would also work fine.

How to avoid the common pitfalls?

The first and most important thing to note is that, if you are, for some justified reason, unable to purify yourself and your space, you can still say your prayers or make your offerings. The Gods will always hear you in your time of need and will always help you. A good way to compensate would be to just pray for them to cleanse your space and you. HOWEVER, this doesn't mean that you should just go lazy and not try and make yourself purify before a ritual. This is an important branch of discipline and health, and neglecting it in the long term will have negative consequences for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is important for you to establish a good relationship with spiritual hygiene and to make a good regiment and schedule for getting it done. It is one of those things many people struggle with, but upon doing it, you will inevitably see the benefits in the long run.