I wonder if when people ask for help, they are really, 90% of the time, just seeking affirmation. Real requests for real help – advice, alterations, collaborative problem solving – seem rare and different. But I haven’t made my mind up about the ratio yet.
In victorious news, I had the best 6th period ever ever ever today. So many developmentally appropriate pieces came together, not the least of which being using a familiar graphic organizer (support-refute chart) from their ELA class, printed on “cool, big” paper (8.5×14!), to sort through the evidence in their source packet to answer our guiding question of, “What was the role of religion in unifying or dividing societies of the Eastern Hemisphere?” Today, they spent 30 industrious minutes mining for evidence to support or refute their claim that Religions in the Eastern Hemisphere unified societies. Kids seemed relieved and grateful when I explained the reason we used the same organizer from English is that it felt to me like a good use of their learning time if we could use something they’re familiar with and successful with to keep track of their thoughts, instead of me finding a slightly different one and explaining it in a more confusing way. How cool to capitalize on their success and confidence, and reinforce the horizontal alignment between social studies and ELA, while developing Common Core-ready skills, AND have no power struggles or ridiculous battles with children. “How cool,” in this context, may be the understatement of the week.
Also: Sonoma varietal Pinot Noir and Pt. Reyes Toma on Triskets. really hit the spot.
and all the things 