I just finished watching the movie "Angels & Demons" based on Dan Brown's book. I have not read the book yet, so I cannot comment on whether the movie is faithful to the book, but the movie was a good mystery. No matter where you stand on the science versus religion issue, "Angels & Demons" takes known facts and locations and wraps them together into a fascinating pseudo-historical work of fiction. I found it compelling enough to watch a History Channel presentation on the book and the movie.
The 90 minute History Channel presentation entitled "Angels & Demons: Decoded" looks at the book, the movie, the history in the book, the conspiracy theories contained in both the book and the movie, and the science behind the "bomb". I found it to be, if you will pardon the pun, very "illuminating". For myself, as an engineer and long-time Star Trek fan, the explanation of what anti-matter really is, how it is generated, and why billions of dollars and euros are being spent to create it, the History Channel has done a wonderful job of explaining those things.
The history behind the actions taken by Galileo, Bernini, and others, along with possible explanations of the machinations of secret groups within and without the church were discussed. If you are not a fan of history, a conspiracy theorist, or a scientist, then some of the explanations may seem a bit long-winded. However, I found it a jumping off point which led me to a wikipedia article on the inquisition. From there, I was led to the transcripts of the "trial" of Joan D'Arc. The history of those times is one that has been either trivialized (watered down) or just plain ignored by much of what passes for history text books in our schools.
All-in-all, I found watching the movie and the History Channel presentation to be an exciting romp through Rome, history, and science. The 3 hours spent watching them and other time looking more into history by way of the internet was, in my opinion, time well spent. Definitely a much wiser choice than watching more re-runs of NCIS, Bones, or Dirty Jobs.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Should the teacher be expected to grade every piece of homework?
I saw this letter to the editor and just could not let it slide.
The web page is: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2009/09/08/20090908tuelets088.html#comments
I just watched Denise Donovan on TV discussing mandatory homework for our schoolchildren. I couldn't disagree more.
She mentioned that, beginning with kindergarten, students should have about 10 to 15 minutes of homework a night and that by the time they reach sixth grade, about an hour a night. This is not an extension of school - it's an overburden on the students as well as the family.
The children spend approximately six hours in school every weekday. That's enough. Give them after-school time to enjoy sports or time with their families. This would lessen the tension in every home and have the children return to school the next day refreshed and ready to learn.
Stop mandatory homework!
- Diana Blazek, Surprise, AZ
While reading the comments of other readers, I ran across this question from bigkoaz:
A question for the people commenting on this article, should the teacher be expected to grade every piece of homework? I know my opinion but want to know yours. Also, are you a teacher?
My answer was this:
My thinking is that homework should be mandated by every teacher, except maybe PE teachers. There are very few people (they call them "savants") who can see or do something one time and remember or be able to do it perfectly. If your child is a verified savant, then maybe homework is not necessary. For the rest of us (probably 99.99% or higher), homework is a necessity, because it is a chance to practice the material again and solidify the learning.
How many concert pianists do you know of that did not have to practice at least a few hours each day? Why should you think learning is any different?
Having said that, let me state that I am AGAINST giving students credit for "doing" homework. My policy would be that there would be no credit, and I would not collect it! However, if your child does not do well on a quiz or a test, cannot prove that they have done the assigned homework, has not taken notes, and has not participated in class discussions, then whose fault is it for the poor performance?
Most teachers I know work much harder than their students to produce quality lessons. If the students do not practice their reading, writing, spelling, foreign language vocabulary, math, music, or science, then how can they be expected to be able to do it well and maybe do it for a living?
Oh, wait, there are options for them. They could grow up to be a stupid politician or a drug dealer, or a con artist, or they could just live at home with their parents who thought that homework was unnecessary.
If you agree that homework is needed, then maybe you could talk this up and get involved in a good, grass-roots, conspiracy to create an educated populace.
The web page is: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2009/09/08/20090908tuelets088.html#comments
I just watched Denise Donovan on TV discussing mandatory homework for our schoolchildren. I couldn't disagree more.
She mentioned that, beginning with kindergarten, students should have about 10 to 15 minutes of homework a night and that by the time they reach sixth grade, about an hour a night. This is not an extension of school - it's an overburden on the students as well as the family.
The children spend approximately six hours in school every weekday. That's enough. Give them after-school time to enjoy sports or time with their families. This would lessen the tension in every home and have the children return to school the next day refreshed and ready to learn.
Stop mandatory homework!
- Diana Blazek, Surprise, AZ
While reading the comments of other readers, I ran across this question from bigkoaz:
A question for the people commenting on this article, should the teacher be expected to grade every piece of homework? I know my opinion but want to know yours. Also, are you a teacher?
My answer was this:
My thinking is that homework should be mandated by every teacher, except maybe PE teachers. There are very few people (they call them "savants") who can see or do something one time and remember or be able to do it perfectly. If your child is a verified savant, then maybe homework is not necessary. For the rest of us (probably 99.99% or higher), homework is a necessity, because it is a chance to practice the material again and solidify the learning.
How many concert pianists do you know of that did not have to practice at least a few hours each day? Why should you think learning is any different?
Having said that, let me state that I am AGAINST giving students credit for "doing" homework. My policy would be that there would be no credit, and I would not collect it! However, if your child does not do well on a quiz or a test, cannot prove that they have done the assigned homework, has not taken notes, and has not participated in class discussions, then whose fault is it for the poor performance?
Most teachers I know work much harder than their students to produce quality lessons. If the students do not practice their reading, writing, spelling, foreign language vocabulary, math, music, or science, then how can they be expected to be able to do it well and maybe do it for a living?
Oh, wait, there are options for them. They could grow up to be a stupid politician or a drug dealer, or a con artist, or they could just live at home with their parents who thought that homework was unnecessary.
If you agree that homework is needed, then maybe you could talk this up and get involved in a good, grass-roots, conspiracy to create an educated populace.
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