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Office Meeting Between Derrel Fincher and Linda Polin, October 3, 2001, 6:00AM in Japan

Subject: ARP Discussion

 

Connected to TAPPED IN on Tue Oct  2 14:01:01 2001 PDT.

 

LindaX materializes from another part of the community.

timed-eye follows LindaX to here.

third-eye follows LindaX to here.

LindaX says, "Good evening Derrel"

 

DerrelF says, "Good morning"

 

LindaX says, "Oops."

 

LindaX grins

 

DerrelF says, "Times--they drive me nuts here."

 

LindaX asks, "So it's wed morning?"

 

DerrelF says, "Yes"

 

LindaX says, "I’ll get it. I’ve got a year to get it down pat."

 

DerrelF says, "I kind of like this early morning stuff"

 

LindaX says, "So let's talk arp."

 

LindaX lol

 

DerrelF says, "Okay. Let me project my ARP log as a start"

 

LindaX . o O ( oh you go guy! )

DerrelF exclaims, "It's not much, but it's all I got!"

 

DerrelF projects the URL:

 

http://derrel.net/arp/log/arplog.htm

LindaX asks, "Hey, is that a weblog?"

 

LindaX says, "You’re a blogger."

 

LindaX says, "Gimme a sec to read."

 

DerrelF exclaims, "Yep! Blogger. I learned it from Tammy, who learned

                   it from your site!"

 

LindaX says, "Hmmm. okay. Kewl. Two quick questions."

 

LindaX asks, "First, what do you think of Japanese 'lesson study'?"

 

LindaX says, "Second, tell me about your students"

 

DerrelF says, "I've looked at the lesson study from your link..."

 

DerrelF says, "And viewed some of the video."

 

DerrelF says, "The first thing I checked was to see if the planning

               meeting was on Sunday"

 

LindaX asks, "?"

 

DerrelF says, "Yes, here in Japan a lot of work is done on Saturday and

               Sunday. Our personnel department routinely had Sunday

               morning meetings."

 

DerrelF says, "People forget that."

 

LindaX asks, "strange. is it like the French. They take Wed. off or

              something?"

 

DerrelF says, "No--they just work all the time."

 

DerrelF says, "Anyway"

 

LindaX looks like an embarrassed American.

 

LindaX says, "g'head"

 

DerrelF says, "I thought it was a well planned lesson on the levers.

               However, in the discussion you may have noticed that they

               referred to having done it in years past"

 

LindaX nods

 

DerrelF asks, "So, why this year did they choose levers?"

 

LindaX says, "but that's just this case, I think"

 

LindaX shrugs

 

DerrelF has lost his link.

 

======================

 

Connected to TAPPED IN on Tue Oct  2 14:10:40 2001 PDT.

 

LindaX says, "just in case. I’m on AIM as prof polin"

 

LindaX says, "I’ve logged in there."

 

DerrelF says, "Anyway, I see you there--I'll switch if it drops again

               (first time since coming back)"

 

LindaX asks, "okay. so why'd they choose levers. do you suspect

              something?"

 

DerrelF says, "So, why did they choose levers? I suspect that they

               choose a lesson or lesson each year to work on."

 

LindaX says, "well, I was just thinking it would be cool if you taped

              yourself."

 

LindaX says, "and discussed it with someone"

 

DerrelF says, "I didn’t read all of the papers, but Japanese teachers

               have less time in the classroom than we do."

 

LindaX nods

 

LindaX . o O ( there's always Sunday ... har har )

DerrelF says, "They also have bigger classes, although the Ministry is

               trying to change that."

 

LindaX says, "hmm."

 

LindaX asks, "do you only teach math? do you teach a lot of sections of

              it?"

 

DerrelF says, "People underestimate the power of a very strong, common

               culture that stresses obedience"

 

DerrelF says, "I teach only one section of math. :-("

 

DerrelF says, "I teach keyboarding, Multimedia Skills, and Invent and

               engineer"

 

DerrelF says, "Next semester, I add Exploring programming to the mix"

 

DerrelF says, "I want to tape myself. I haven't had good feedback since

               student teaching"

 

LindaX . o O ( oooooh invent and engineer. sounds cool ) LindaX asks, "I dig the programming too. what language you gonna use?

              java?"

 

DerrelF says, "I do ask my students, but their answers tend to filtered

               because some don't want to offend me."

 

DerrelF says, "Java? Heck, I don't know Java. I tell the kids the course

               is EXPLORING programming. Not learn to program and make a

               million bucks"

 

LindaX asks, "are you teaching American kids who are worried about

              getting into American universities?"

 

DerrelF says, "No, I use Logo (MSW), then segue into VB"

 

LindaX nods

 

LindaX says, "I like programming in Logo. Heck, it's almost LISP anyhow."

 

DerrelF says, "At 7th and 8th grade most aren't, yet, although a few

               parents are"

 

LindaX says, "hmmmmm..."

 

LindaX is getting an idea

 

DerrelF says, "I didn't realize the power of list processors until I

               figured it out."

 

DerrelF says, "Fire away"

 

LindaX says, "cool huh? I went through a few years where I was just

              addicted to logo programming. that's why stager likes me."

 

LindaX asks, "you know gary stager right?"

 

DerrelF asks, "How could I not?"

 

LindaX asks, "have you 'hung out' in the Logo world?"

 

DerrelF smiles

 

LindaX asks, "are you "one of them" ?"

 

DerrelF says, "No, I haven't and I'm not."

 

DerrelF says, "I haven't had time to investigate it."

 

LindaX asks, "okay. hmmm. well, you up for an adventure?"

 

DerrelF says, "Uhh....."

 

LindaX says, "you could take a look at three courses: math, programming,

              and invent."

 

LindaX asks, "do you get the same kids in all three?"

 

LindaX crosses her fingres

 

DerrelF says, "No. Math is 6th grade and all year. I&E and EP are 7th

               and 8th and one semester."

 

LindaX says, "that's okay. cross age is good"

 

LindaX grins

 

DerrelF says, "I occasionally have one student in both I&E and EP"

 

LindaX says, "you have curric next semester... this gives you a chance

              to focus on the content"

 

LindaX says, "maybe you would want to think about some overlaps among

              thoses courses"

 

LindaX says, "even if just in a single project"

 

LindaX dangles a Lego brick in front of Derrel

 

DerrelF jumps for the brick

 

LindaX asks, "do you have 'stuff' to mess with?"

 

DerrelF says, "Not really"

 

LindaX wonders if she could send a few brick sets back to Japan with Derrel.

 

DerrelF says, "I have one old programmable robotic arm that uses Forth "

 

LindaX slaps her forehead

 

LindaX says, "wow, I haven't thouogh about Forth in at least 10 years"

 

LindaX grins

 

DerrelF says, "Well, I try not to."

 

LindaX lol

 

LindaX says, "ah, the good old days."

 

DerrelF says, "Bricks would be nice! If I could demonstrate a use, they

               could probably get used."

 

LindaX says, "well, I think kyour main danger here is having too much to

              choose from"

 

DerrelF says, "That's a problem"

 

LindaX asks, "if you could demo their use could you get some budget to

              score more?"

 

LindaX wonders what the Lego market is like in Japan .

 

DerrelF says, "Hmmm. I don't know. I've been avoiding the tech

               department ever since they took away my server because I

               asked a question."

 

LindaX says, "you know, I wonder if YOUR group is the group that's going

              to have Cathy Fett for curriculum. Cathy works for Lego."

 

LindaX says, "lemme check"

 

DerrelF says, "Hmmmm. Theres' always the second-chance grants from the

               PTA that might work."

 

LindaX says, "yep, you've got Cathy."

 

DerrelF says, "Hmmm....."

 

LindaX says, "well, maybe she can cutyou a deal."

 

DerrelF says, "Okay, that might work. I gotta think about it."

 

LindaX says, "her expertise is middle school curric."

 

LindaX grins

 

DerrelF says, "Oooohhhh."

 

LindaX nods

 

LindaX says, "yeah this could be sweet."

 

DerrelF says, "So, let's think about my original topic for a moment..."

 

LindaX says, "so for now... what you should do this semester is think

              about the possibilities and get up to speed on the subjects

              you need to think about"

 

LindaX says, "okay. go ahead"

 

DerrelF says, "One of the reasons I chose it is because I like the

               feedback from the students, and I see the power of them

               working with each other."

 

DerrelF says, "However...."

 

DerrelF says, "I also would like them to seperate school from learning."

 

LindaX asks, "?"

 

DerrelF says, "That is, some learning happens during the school day, but

               it's learning all the time."

 

LindaX asks, "what are you shooting for with this?"

 

DerrelF says, "I don't think I'm making sense.... Basically, can they

               reduce their dependency on me"

 

DerrelF asks, "And can I help them do that?"

 

LindaX asks, "ah. are these American kids? did you say that already?"

 

DerrelF says, "About 80% have American Passports."

 

LindaX chuckles

 

DerrelF says, "But you can't tell who does and who doesn't by looking."

 

LindaX says, "i'm wondering about the dependency thing. if it's cultural"

 

LindaX says, "the regard for the teacher as sensei or whatever"

 

DerrelF says, "I think it's the structure of the setting."

 

LindaX says, "mmm."

 

LindaX ponders

 

DerrelF says, "My engineers were far less creative than US engineers,

               but they put in a lot more time."

 

LindaX says, "that's pretty much it in a nut shell"

 

LindaX asks, "have you taken a look at problem based learning?"

 

DerrelF says, "Japanese really focus on conformity. The big issue in

               education today is "classroom collapse""

 

LindaX says, "it comes out of engineering and medicine"

 

LindaX says, "what is classroom collapse. it sounds awful."

 

DerrelF says, "I need to look at it more."

 

DerrelF says, "It's basically the fact that, with 40 kids in a room,

               some don't pay attention to the teacher."

 

LindaX says, "btw, check this out: http://www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/pbln/ "

 

DerrelF says, "And disrupt the room. Teachers don't know how to handle

               it."

 

LindaX says, "wow. how weird."

 

LindaX says, "sounds like here"

 

DerrelF says, "Well, the nail that sticks up doesn't like to be hammered

               anymore"

 

LindaX chuckles

 

DerrelF says, "It is, but it's much milder"

 

LindaX says, "interesting. very interesting."

 

LindaX says, "I suppose they'll blame us for that."

 

LindaX grins

 

DerrelF says, "Education is only mandatory through the 9th grade"

 

DerrelF says, "It's common for students to sleep in class in high school

               because they are going to juku at night"

 

LindaX says, "gee, you're making us sound less lame by the minute"

 

DerrelF says, "Well, there's a lot to be said for theAmerican system."

 

LindaX says, "I suppose the juku thing is a good look at where we're

              heading with all the testing"

 

LindaX says, "Kaplan and others are making a pot of money"

 

LindaX says, "Sylvan"

 

DerrelF says, "Probably. The goal was to get into college. College is

               not very difficult."

 

LindaX says, "all those test prep guys"

 

LindaX says, "so back to your arp"

 

DerrelF says, "They will continue to do so."

 

DerrelF says, "Okay"

 

LindaX says, "what are you hoping to be like in July"

 

DerrelF . o O ( Darn, I hate those questions... ) LindaX says, "i'm into reverse engineering"

 

LindaX lol

 

LindaX says, "oooooh. here's a book you MUST get for your engineering

              class."

 

DerrelF says, "Basically, I hope to have a better handle on

               understanding my students and understanding how they learn"

 

DerrelF says, "I do the tech because it has possibilities to help me get

               there."

 

LindaX projects the URL:

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1850005907/qid%3D1002058143/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F1/104-2926666-5485556

LindaX says, "I may have two, in which case i'll send you one."

 

DerrelF asks, "Great. Even the title just grabs you, doesn't it?"

 

LindaX says, "it's pitched at a lower grade level, but you can

              extrapolate"

 

LindaX says, "great book. very Dewey"

 

LindaX says, "oh look they've got my review of it"

 

DerrelF says, "Okay, I see that I have a lot more thinking to do, and

               you gave me some ideas. YOur review is right at the top"

 

LindaX grins

 

LindaX says, "yeah, but they never sent me the $50 for it"

 

LindaX says, "bummer"

 

DerrelF -(

 

LindaX says, "anyhow...it's a good read."

 

DerrelF says, "Okay"

 

LindaX says, "you need to decide where you want to focus. what you are

              shooting for, and to imagine what it might look like when

              you get there."

 

LindaX says, "how about a journal entry on that"

 

DerrelF says, "Okay. Let me ponder that for a bit and I'll write on it

               in a couple of days"

 

LindaX says, "ok."

 

LindaX asks, "do you need anything sent to you?"

 

DerrelF says, "I'll also talk with my committee."

 

DerrelF asks, "Umm, is is easy to get the two small books for 638?"

 

LindaX says, "I can send you a mcniff now. I have an extra. email me

              your address."

 

DerrelF says, "They were shown as special order. Somehow I overlooked

               them during my ordering binge."

 

LindaX says, "i'll try to get another copy of the other one"

 

LindaX asks, "is that what you mean?"

 

DerrelF says, "I have Mcniff and the other ARP one is on the way. I just

               don't have either of the options."

 

DerrelF says, "I'm looking, but Hale is really slow"

 

LindaX says, "i'm doign the same thing. hang on. mine's loading"

 

DerrelF says, "The Dixon books are what I'm missing"

 

LindaX says, "hmmm. d on't have extras of those. lemme see what I can

              dig up."

 

DerrelF says, "Okay. Amazon just showed an amazingly long lead time as

               special order."

 

DerrelF says, "And expedite charges are eating a hole in my wallet"

 

LindaX says, "try going straight to the pub. creative leadership"

 

DerrelF says, "Okay, I'll do that."

 

LindaX says, "hang on. i've got th e url"

 

LindaX projects the URL:

 

http://www.ccl.org/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-168.htmlL+scstore+qzkf7018ffcdddcd+1002133829

 

DerrelF says, "Thanks! Well, I have a 7:30 meeting at school I have to

               get to. Fortunately, the commute is only 3 minutes."

 

DerrelF says, "On foot"

 

LindaX says, "okay. i'll see you around online"

 

LindaX says, "show off"

 

DerrelF  grins

 

LindaX says, "bye"

 

DerrelF says, "Bye. Later"

 

DerrelF has disconnected.

 

Disconnected from TAPPED IN on Tue Oct  2 14:43:12 2001 PDT.