Weighed, Measured, and Wanting
Friends, we’ve come to the very long ending of a not-quite-so-long school year. May is always a weird month, filled with required testing, silly funtivities, and the closing of one more school cycle as we prepare for the next. I get to be more slow-paced and reflective in May; being an instructional coach means that I’m often not involved in the year-end events, though planning for next year is always a major endeavor, and I’ve got several projects starting (or finishing, remember that whole dissertation thing?) next year.
Amongst all the madness that is May, I’ve still managed to carve out some time and find 10 things worth your attention this week:
There are four perfect films made in the history of... films. They are, in no particular order, Galaxy Quest (also the greatest Star Trek movie ever made), 10 Things I Hate About You, The Princess Bride, and the film celebrating its 25th anniversary this week, A Knight’s Tale. No, it shouldn’t surprise you that Heath Ledger shows up twice in this list. No, I will not hear any discussion about your list of perfect films; this is my newsletter. Start your own. A Knight’s Tale is perfectly anachronistic (absurdly so), yet never gets old or boring. It’s a joy to watch every time.
“Benjamin Bloom published his original framework in 1956 — but it didn’t emerge from just him. It came out of a series of conferences held between 1948 and 1953, designed to find common vocabulary for curriculum design and educational examinations. The committee was chaired by Professor Bloom but included four collaborators: Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl. What they produced was a classification of educational objectives — not a pyramid, not a hierarchy with “Create” at the top. That version didn’t even include creation as a category.“ - Great read on how much of education jacked up the interpretation of Bloom’s Taxonomy (not that we do that in education... wait... graduate profiles, anyone? Authentic learning? Hmm...) and what we might use instead in this current age of AI.
My favorite music blogger/playlist creator, Matthew Perpetua, released another playlist that only serves to remind me of how old I am, and that time is running away from me faster than the fleetest hoof ever struck the pavement. Relive with me, if you will, the summer of 1995. Let’s get old together, shall we?
“I tell the rogues to read, read, read, read, read. Those who read own the world; those who immerse themselves in the internet or watch too much television lose it... Our civilization is suffering profound wounds because of the wholesale abandonment of reading by contemporary society.” - Werner Herzog on reading
Elizabeth Saloka paints rocks. But, probably not in the way you think. “From a couple of rock piles outside of her regular supermarket to crumbling curbs or demolished structures, she sifts through a variety of shapes and sizes to find rocks that may eventually transform into vibrant mimics of common household items...”
Cory Doctorow - may the Universal Architect preserve him - is launching his newest book with a Kickstarter. I love Cory’s mind and, even though I disagree with his takes every now and then, he makes me think. His latest is “The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI,” a book about our current AI bubble, but more broadly about the hyper-capitalist, high-tech world we’re being dragged into by hook or by crook. Yes, I backed the project. Cory launches these to circumvent the digital rights management (DRM) enforced by companies like Audible and their parent company, Amazon. When you buy these files, they’re yours. Do with them what you like. Shouldn’t it always be like that?
Speaking of Kickstarters, my good friend (and award-winning author/artist) just launched his latest book, *The Mysterious Adventures of Eula McDowell.* Think Supernatural meets HP Lovecraft meets Murder She Wrote (HA!), which should be enough to make you click through to purchase all on its own.
Some people tell me that I should spend more time on LinkedIn to make more professional connections. I ignore them for the most part, but perhaps if I start using this English-to-LinkedIn translator someone put together, I might be there more often. This reminds me an awful lot of the EduSpeak Generator.
Need some historic artwork for your students? Look no further than this Japanese Woodblock Print Search.
Vapes are everywhere in schools, to no one's surprise. I mean, it’s part of kid programming that they do things at school they’re not supposed to do. Right? Well, what if we could do something productive with those disposable vapes? Like, host a website or something?
That’s it, friends. Enjoy your weekend. Election day is coming up for the primaries in Kentucky, which means I’ll see far fewer ads for candidates who declare themselves the “Trump” choice, and we’ll have a little breathing room until November. Take care of yourselves, and each other.
Cyas.