{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"41640751","dateCreated":"1314221825","smartDate":"Aug 24, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"RobynRSTAR","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/RobynRSTAR","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/teachertreksummer2011.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/41640751"},"dateDigested":1532091114,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Tshirts, clothing, Tzotchkes","description":"I didn't see an appropriate page for these items. While they're not "traditional" teaching tools, they're still useful. I have a myriad tshirts I wear, from my "Fill Up My Cup Mazel Tov" shirt to "Jews For Jeter", to "Challah Back Girl" a "Shalom, Mother F*$*%R" shirt, etc. Some are not appropriate for school, but I seem to get away with them. Why? The kids talk about them. They're passive teaching tools about incorporating Jewish culture into pop culture. My class wrote a letter to the Black Eyed Peas about "I Gotta Feeling" with their "mazel tov" line, thanking them for bringing a bit of Judaism to parts of the world and population who may never know Jews.
\n
\nSo, here's some online resources:
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.moderntribe.com<\/a>
\nA place for Judaica, Gifts, Funny gifts, cookbooks, books, games, etc. Texas Hold 'Em Dreidel usually goes on sale around Halloween time so you can order it in time for classroom Dreidel tourneys. **Jennie, who runs it, is an amazing woman and great friend of mine!
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.challahclothing.com<\/a>
\nWhere I got my Fill Up My Cup Mazel Tov shirt. They're currently creating some new designs.
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.kosherham.com<\/a>
\n"Cuz if it ain't Kosher, we don't wear it!" Funny funny tshirts
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.popjudaica.com<\/a>
\nThis is where I got my Jews For Jeter tshirt. They merged with Modern Judaica, but still maintain some of their own items.
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.jewcy.com<\/a>
\nKnown for their skull-and-crossbones motif, but they also great hoodies, jewelry, stickers, etc.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"40754931","dateCreated":"1310328920","smartDate":"Jul 10, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"TinyMouse","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/TinyMouse","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/teachertreksummer2011.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/40754931"},"dateDigested":1532091115,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Teaching Philosohy","description":"Hi, Teacher Trek!
\n
\nI just wrote a statement on my teaching philosophy for a job opening at a progressive school. Our trip played a big role in this new development of my theory on education. I'm posting it here and hoping you guys will share about your own philosophies and how the trip inspired you.
\n
\nI use the word "intentional" in the statement, because the school follows the "intentional" style of education which means they place high emphasis on thoughtful planning and execution of a lesson to inspire natural curiosity in the content. But it wasn't until I came to Israel that I started thinking about what it means to live an intentional, purposeful life...here's what I wrote:
\n
\nA Few Words on the Word \u201cIntentional\u201d
\nPhilosophy Statement \u2013 Jessica Katz, 7\/8\/11
\n
\nTo teach intentionally, you have to live intentionally. It is the key to turning a philosophy into practice, a concept into knowledge.
\n
\nMy previous teaching philosophies always posed that progressive education was the best method for creating authentic learning. It took being an experiential learner to understand this as more than just an educational theory but a way of life. In order to create intentional learning, I believe I have to live an intentional life. I believe this means serving my community as a teacher.
\n
\nAt this stage in my understanding, I see that intentional living contains four concepts: introspection, passion, discipline (not punitive, but a basic structure to guide exploration), and service. Service is the product of the learning process. It contributes a new experience to the community that inspires further introspection and questioning for those impacted, beginning the process again. To me, this description of service sounds like the act of teaching. I view introspection, passion, and discipline as necessary to the teaching process, and they shape my teaching style.
\n
\nAs an intentional teacher, my aim is to expose my students to these four practices and ultimately foster their living intentional lives. Introspection can come during a lesson, or through interaction with another person, or in a day in the life at school when a student is amazed, disappointed, or surprised by the way events play out. Passion may be easy to discern or it may take a closer listen. The teacher can evoke interest in learning by celebrating the student\u2019s voice and encouraging them to listen to it. Teachers should reassure students that they are free to react to knowledge in whatever way they choose \u2013 so long as they reflect on various ways of thinking about it. Discipline may seem constricting, but by creating structure in the classroom teachers free students to focus on their learning process. Finally, service is the evidence of learning; students take action to give back to the community that helped shape them. Those actions can look very different, but they are the manifestation of a thoughtful process.
\n
\nIn my pre-k class, I see that my students are already aware of how to reflect, express interest, respect structure, and contribute. Teaching this age requires more overt instruction on introspection simply because these students gaze outward, looking to discern how the world relates back to them. I provide positive reinforcement or examples of introspection in the form of a question, a story, a didactic activity, or modeling.
\n
\nChildren in the pre-operational stage of development are eager to learn how new information relates to them, and interest in a topic is evident. For these students play is essential to exploring new concepts, and can guide the content of the lesson. Imaginative play is an expression of the early student\u2019s learning. In that way, play is also a young child\u2019s contribution to the community.
\n
\nFor older children who are developing formal operations, abstract thinking skills enable them to look critically inward and then at their relationship with the world. Adolescents are passionate about discovering themselves, as they are perpetually conscious of themselves. I create lessons that enable these students to learn and question through expression of their individuality.
\n
\nDrama class is an excellent opportunity to let students examine themselves while investigating how their qualities relate to others (in character development and interaction) and to the broader cultural movements that guide theatrical expression (through historical context). The product, or service, resulting from this intentional process is expression that successfully translates the human experience, inspiring reflection in the players and the audience.
\n
\nFor both stages \u2013 and for all students \u2013 intentional teachers are responsible for facilitating the process of reflection and questioning. Our essential task is to create an atmosphere that feels comfortable enough for students to be unsure of what they know while motivating them to pursue more learning.
\n
\nIn order to complete the cycle of intentional learning, it is necessary for the learner to produce something for their community and realize the impact of their experience on their world. Therefore, learning begins and ends with the community. Teachers should encourage students to develop relationships in the learning community in order to promote peer-to-peer education and to develop a sense of connectedness in the learner to their school and world. My goal as an intentional teacher is to uphold the learning community so that each student can use it as a place to explore the world and their place in it.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]}],"more":false},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}